Recover
by islandgirl33
Summary: What if Beth didn't die at the switch and it was just the beginning of her and Daryl's story? Now four years later, the outbreak is over, Beth and Daryl are FINALLY together and struggling to make sense of the new world as a married couple. Will contain flashbacks to present day, telling their story! Hot Bethyl action! Some chapters are M!
1. Chapter 1

****A/N - Writing this I am still in shock at ...SPOILER ALERT! ****

****The horrible death scene!****

****This is just my contribution to the aftermath of that! I couldn't face writing anything too sad at the moment, so this is an alternative story for Beth, with a twist as it is set a few years on when the outbreak is over, she lives and is married to Daryl. Each chapter will be split in to two with a flashback leading up to present day, telling the story of how they got where there are. ****

****Rating T/M. Warning some chapters will be M rated.****

**This is a story I have had buzzing around in my head for a while and I planned to write it one day. But I recently got the urge whilst trying to mend by broken bethyl heart, to just do it! If anyone else is as heartbroken as me than this is for you. I can also assure you, that Beth will NEVER die in any of my stories. I will also be updating Fight our Desires very soon with lots of Beth and Daryl. **

**Please leave me some feedback, on this story or on the show. I would love to hear what other people think :) X**

* * *

_B__eth couldn't believe what she was hearing, this couldn't be happening. She had been so close….. But now she had no choice, she knew what she needed to do. _

_Blood rushing around her body, adrenaline flooding her veins, she lunged herself forward with passion. Her hands shaking violently, she opened her mouth. _

_"Wait" she exclaimed loudly._

_Before she could move another step, she felt strong fingers tightly gripping her wrist. _

_"No, stay back," Rick hissed in a fierce whisper._

_Beth was determined, she tried to wriggle free from the sheriffs grip but he was too strong for her. _

_"No, wait," she exclaimed again, this time a little louder and bolder as all eyes suddenly turned in her direction. _

"_Let him go," Rick said to Beth, his piercing blue eyes staring at her intently, his voice firm but calm. _

"_No," Beth shrieked again._

_Her eyes filling with warm soft liquid, this couldn't be happening, she wouldn't let it, she wouldn't let that bitch win. Rick couldn't stop her, no-one could. _

_Beth had told herself she didn't cry anymore, but perhaps she had just been saving her tears for something actually worth crying for. _

_Using all her strength this time, with fierce determination, Beth eventually twisted her wrist away from her former leaders grasp. Moving quickly, before he or anyone else had the chance to do anything to stop her, she found herself leaping away from her old group of survivors and in to Noah's arms, the arms of the kindest sweetest boy she had ever met. _

_Without thinking, she wrapped her own arms tightly around his neck, burying her whole face in his chest, causing a warm damp patch to spread across his shirt with her tears. He was so young, so innocent, just like she had been not so long ago, she couldn't leave him, she couldn't let him go back. _

_Eventually, the urge to comfort him subsided and her body relaxed slightly. He gently pushed her away, his big brown eyes staring straight back with emotion in to her bright blue ones. _

"_I'll be okay," he whispered in her ear as they broke apart._

_Beth just continued to look back at her friend. Without him she would never have found the courage to carry on, she owed him everything. She bit her lip, the tears still gently flowing at the injustice of the world, all she could do was nod, before finally whispering back, "We'll come back for ya."_

"_You won't need to," he replied with the faintest of smiles._

* * *

Four years later

Daryl gripped the steering wheel tightly as he pushed his foot down a little harder on the accelerator.

Dusk was creeping in as he sped down the nearly deserted highway, the sky bursting with a beautiful orange and pink glow, his favourite time of day. He reached for the radio dial, turning it up slightly, it wasn't a song he recognised, some old 80's cover, but still it was music, he was grateful for that. It was nice to fill the silence as he drove on alone, thinking he would never quite get tired of hearing music again, as the speedometer crept up. The quicker he could get home the better, thoughts of what he wanted to do to his hot young wife filling his head as he sped on, blood rushing around his body in arousal with the anticipation.

Slowing down slightly, he passed a big neon sign stating the current speed limit. It might be a few years now since the world had slowly started to come back together, but Daryl still couldn't quite get used to things like obeying speed limits again.

He glanced in to his rear view mirror, he looked like shit he knew that. The scars on his face more exaggerated than ever with his fatigue, along with the dark circles under both his eyes, his long dark hair in desperate need of a cut. But then again working the hours he did would do that to a man he thought, relaxing back in to his seat a little. He knew he could take a long hot shower as soon as he got home. A luxury he didn't think he would ever stop being thankful for. For a long time Daryl had had to go for weeks without even so much as taking a quick bath, surviving another day taking priority over everything else. That all felt like another life now though, when Daryl thought back to the nightmares they'd all had to live through during the dark times of the outbreak, somehow it just felt like a dream.

….

Beth suddenly jumped as she heard a key in the front door. Flinging the book she had been reading down on to the side, leaping off the sofa, her long glossy blonde hair falling in loose waves over the straps of the little white dress covering her pale shoulders, she ran to the front door to meet her husband.

Putting his bag down and walking towards her, Beth leapt in to Daryl's strong arms, wrapping her legs around his waist, flinging her arms around his neck passionately, kissing him deeply, urgently, drinking in his manly aroma, her hands gripping the back of his shaggy dark hair.

Daryl was eager to respond, his lips immediately locking with hers, holding her tightly to him. Both completely unable to hide their mutual longing for each other still.

They had been married for little over two years now, but it still filled Beth with a huge rush of butterflies every time Daryl got home. After everything they had been through together, now that the outbreak was over, they had fallen more in love than ever.

Eventually they broke apart.

"You're early, I'm not ready for ya yet, I'll need to put some food on for you," Beth said with a sparkle in her eye, breaking in to a wide smile, looking back at her handsome rugged husband.

"Relax, that can wait," Daryl said, pulling her towards him again. Speaking with a confidence that would once have been so alien to him around a beautiful woman.

Drawing her closer, he kissed her again, slowly this time, breathing in her scent, stroking the back of her head, he'd only been apart from her a short time but he'd missed her, he'd never get tired of coming home to her.

…...

Daryl gazed at Beth's face staring back at him, her big wide eyes reflecting the soft beams of moonlight falling through their bedroom window. Her beautiful features illuminated as she studied his face in return.

Brushing her face with his fingers, he moved slowly, intensely, savouring every moment, every thrust, feeling his heart raging in his chest, his breath quickening as he moved even closer to her. Her perfect breasts pressed against his muscular torso, he sensed her heart beating quickly too in rhythm with his. Proof that she was real.

She pressed her cool lips in to his damp neck, it was a cliché to say the sex kept getting better and better, but it did. The first few times they had slept together had been wonderful, but it had been so new, so unexpected, startling even. Then once they had gotten used to each others bodies they had found a new sense of pace, fast, full on and urgent. Back then, despite the danger, they had been on fire for each other. Now, it was just as intense, but in a different way, slower, more intimate, more passionate and loving. They knew each other so well, how to provide the ultimate pleasure, whilst retaining their remarkable closeness, their bond.

Tangling his fingers in her soft blonde hair, planting gentle kisses across her smooth sensitive skin, forcing her to let out a small moan, he moved to find her lips, their bodies moving together. She kissed him back hot and hard. His muscles straining as he lifted her hips up, gliding in to her further, increasing the contact between them.

Breaking away from the kiss, his face flushed with lust and pure animal arousal, taking in their intimacy, their connection, it was still there more alive than ever. He sucked in a breath as his powerful body strained with the need for her. He cursed as his teeth grinded and she let out a breathless cry, both barely able to stand the feelings pulsing through them. Their eyes locking as the pleasure spread and he held her gaze as Beth let out a sound Daryl knew only too well, halfway between a sigh and a scream. Losing all focus his control swayed and he simultaneously let out a small growl, his features softening for an instant with a subtle vulnerability.

...

Contently and affectionately Daryl wrapped Beth in his arms, crushing her in to him as he pressed his face damp with mists of sweat in to the curve of her neck. He knew he could never find another woman alive that could make him feel like he did now as he lay back and held her close.

Life was different now, calm, peaceful, routine even.

In a strange way at times Daryl found himself almost missing the old life, the living on the edge and perverse excitement of it all, together with the sense of freedom it leant. There had been no rules or restraints, they were purely living in the moment, in their own little bubble, he felt valued, needed in a way he had never done before.

But Daryl was also aware, although the world they lived in these days was still far from being how it had been before the outbreak; the chaos was mostly over, there was now a sense of order again. They were no longer constantly hungry, sick and exhausted. They could enjoy the simple pleasures again, pleasures that had been pretty unknown to him even before the outbreak; lying in bed watching a movie, reading a book, going out for beers and simply having the chance to just 'be'. But most importantly, they could look forward now, look forward to their future, a future at one point it looked unlikely they'd ever have. Altogether, the sun was shining brighter and there was hope again. It was safe, safer than it had been for a long time. For that thought alone Daryl had never been so happy.

They stayed like that for a long time, both dazed and high. Before Beth whispered the three little words that had been so painfully absent all Daryl's life, "I love you."

Running his strong masculine fingertips gently over the scar across her left cheek, his eyes warm and tender, he whispered back, "I love you too."

**a/n - Thanks for reading. The story will change tempo soon and will follow Beth and Daryl as they struggle to make sense of their roles in the new world and their marriage, now there is a cure for the outbreak. Each chapter will also have a flashback up to present day to show how they ended up where they are. **


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/_N - Thanks for your reviews and encouragement. DarylDixon'sLover, brady66, Nikiree, mellymoo13, tanglingshadows, Maykits, heatherrk, Ela, Scully578**

**For people asking if I will be updating my other two stories, yes, yes, yes! As soon as I have the inspiration I write, but I have two babies, so as you can imagine it's hard to always find the free time, (but they are definitely work in progress.) This is on my mind right now as I am still mourning the loss of Beth!..Anyway...hope you like this next instalment. I have a story planned out, but any ideas would also be appreciated in the feedback.**

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_Daryl found Beth with her back against a tree, arms folded, staring methodically out in to the long stretch of road ahead of her, her light blonde messy ponytail blowing gently in the breeze. Maggie had said to giver her time, but Daryl didn't think time was the issue._

"_What you doing?" he said tentatively, approaching her, his dark blue eyes full of concern, staring at her despondent face intently. _

_Beth turned to look at the face of her ruggedly handsome friend, despite his near permanent scowl he had such kind eyes. She opened her mouth to reply, but she honestly had no idea what the answer to his question was. She had been out here for hours thinking, trying to make sense of it all. It had been the same pretty much every day since they had rescued her. Some days she wondered whether she should have just jumped down that damn elevator shaft back when she'd had the chance. _

"_I – I- dunno," she eventually replied in a quiet voice, catching his eye. He didn't respond, but the look in his eye told her he had all the time in the world to listen._

"_It's been weeks and we haven't done anything, Daryl, Noah's still there and we haven't gone back for him, we- we have to go back for him," Beth stammered._

"_You know we can't do that," was all Daryl could say, slowly shaking his head. _

_He knew Beth was desperate to go back for Noah, but Rick had said no. They had suffered too many losses to risk it all again. And as much as Daryl had come to like the kid in the end, he had to agree with their leader. There was too much at stake, he had seen the look on that crazy bitch Dawn's face, if she ever saw Beth again she'd likely kill her. He couldn't let that happen._

_Beth took a deep breath, snapping a twig in half as she looked away, "It all just feels so….so hopeless," she said softly._

"_No it aint," he replied awkwardly, watching her carefully. _

_Daryl felt as though his heart was breaking slightly as a sadness spread through him. This wasn't the girl he remembered. The bright shining light that had set his world on fire not so long ago. The world could be cruel now he knew that, it took little pieces of you bit by bit until you were left with nothing, but not while he was still living and breathing would he let it take Beth._

_"You_ _were right, there aint no good people left in the world anymore, juts the bad ones," Beth said miserably, looking directly at the good looking redneck, opening up slightly. She had been out here on her own for hours and she couldn't deny his presence wasn't comforting. He'd never been one to fully express his feelings, but she could tell he was worried about her and for that she was grateful._

"_That__ aint true, y'know that," he answered hesitantly, moving a little closer to her. _

_He desperately wanted to help her. She'd been like this on and off since they had gotten her back, quiet and distant, he never quite knew what was going on in her head. The only time he had seen her shed a single tear was when she had been saying her goodbyes to Noah, he wished she would cry again._

_There was another long period of silence between them. _

"_What are we doing?" Beth eventually said dismissively, biting down on her lower lip, her voice shaking slightly, adding, "Just surviving for the sake of surviving. What's the point? What are we even surviving for?" her eyes pleading with him to say something, anything._

_Daryl shifted uncomfortably, he opened his mouth to speak but the words dried on his tongue, he had asked himself that same question many times. But there was a point to all of this, there was something worth surviving for he felt certain of that now. _

"_Whatever happened, happened. You just got to start over, right?" he replied with emotion, his face hovering dangerously close to hers, his dark hair falling over his eye as he waited for her to respond._

_Beth blinked, her big blue eyes widening, scanning his scarred handsome face for what seemed like eternity. _

_Daryl thought back to what Carol had told him not so long ago, back when they had been looking for Beth. 'He was a man now'. And right now he knew he needed to do the manly thing. Slowly he moved his hand away from his side and reached out for Beth's small delicate fingers, wrapping them in his, feeling a sudden rush of warmth at the contact. His eyes still focused on her face, he detected a soft smile, causing her eyes to glow with a subtle sparkle as the warmth spread. The brightness she had created in him when they had been alone together, was slowly lighting up again._

* * *

Four years later

Daryl was lying in bed with his wife wrapped up lovingly in his arms. He hadn't had a great deal of experience with women before Beth, certainly never shared his bed with one on a regular basis. With her these intimate moments after they had made love were almost what Daryl enjoyed the most, his fingertips lightly tracing a pattern on her skin. They didn't have to say anything, they were just them.

Beth smiled to herself as she felt her husbands light touch on the curve of her hip as he continued to caress her affectionately.

"Did you ever think back at the prison, we'd end up like this?" She said dreamily.

"Nah," Daryl replied honestly after a pause.

Back in those days, Beth had just been a young girl under her father's watchful gaze. He'd been fond of her, just like he had been all their group. Perhaps looking back even he'd always had a particular soft spot for the pretty blonde Greene girl. She'd been through so much and she'd been so tough, especially after she'd lost her father. But he had never imagined in his wildest dreams, he would one day be her husband. That she would grow into a beautiful and strong young woman that would steal his heart in every way.

Daryl had despised romance and all the drama it brought, presuming he'd always be alone. Until Beth.

His hand travelled from her hip to rest on her stomach.

"Do you think I'm putting on weight?" she said quietly. She'd always been petite, but recently her clothes were starting to feel a little tight, she'd put it down to being able to access more calories now, but she didn't want to let herself go. She still wanted Daryl to desire her just as much as he had in the beginning.

Daryl didn't say anything at first, looking her in the eye a little taken aback. It wasn't like Beth to come out with something like that. She'd always been so self assured about her body, even when they had been roughing it for days at a time on the road. It was one of the many reasons he had become so attracted to her. If she thought for one moment he would be concerned about a small thing like that, she was wrong, he would never look elsewhere. He'd only ever have eyes for her and he only had to look at her to get turned on.

He cast his eyes down to study her figure briefly, noticing perhaps she had put on a little weight, not that he would have noticed otherwise, as he grunted awkwardly, "I dunno, maybe...aint a big deal."

Beth felt her heart melting a little as she looked up at Daryl, she loved there was a softer side to her moody introverted husband that was only ever for her. He wriggled slightly gently prizing her out of his arms as he reached for a half empty packet of cigarettes by the bed. Lighting one up and taking a long draw, he reached out for her hand again.

Beth lay back flat on the bed and smiled, her long blonde hair spread out across the pillow. Inhaling Daryl's cigarette smoke, she felt a small glow inside. Beth had detested smoking growing up, the idea of anyone smoking in bed would have been abhorrent to her. But now everything was different, the smell of cigarette smoke signified the end to a nightmare. People could readily buy cigarettes again and alcohol and a whole host of other everyday luxuries that were once unthinkable in a broken world.

"Oh, I almost forgot, I got some exciting news for ya," Beth suddenly said with a teasing smile pulling her hand away from him and hoisting herself up, her eyes sparkling.

She turned her back to him, leaning down over her side of the bed, the sheet covering her falling exposing her small perfectly rounded breasts. Reaching down she picked up a large white envelope, pulling out an official looking letter as she rolled back towards her husband.

Daryl looked over at her from where he lay next to her, his face full of anticipation and curiosity as he tried to figure out just what she was about to spring on him.

"I...got accepted in to med school," Beth said excitedly breaking in to an even wider grin, turning to show him the letter.

Daryl froze, his cigarette half hanging out of his mouth as he looked at the delighted look on his young wife's face. He knew she had talked about wanting to become a doctor now the outbreak was over, but he hadn't really given it that much thought, he certainly hadn't thought it would happen anytime soon.

"Well say something," Beth said, her excited smile fading a little.

She had been on such a high all day waiting to tell him before they had gotten carried away when he had first got home. She had thought he would have been a little more excited for her.

Beth had had her heart set all her life on becoming a veterinarian like her father. But after the outbreak and seeing all the people they had lost that could have been saved, along with the brief time she had spent in the hospital, Beth had come to realize, the only thing she wanted to do now was become a doctor and help people, help save their lives. She was aware that going to med school in the new world would be nothing like it would have been before. There were no flashy buildings or strict entry requirements, there probably weren't even any proper teaching materials. The struggling new government were only just starting to try and re-build educational institutions again out of the utter chaos and devastation that had erupted in the world before. But still there were people willing to teach and pass on their knowledge and experience to the likes of Beth, to try and start to build some kind of a better world.

"That's great," Daryl finally muttered, reaching across to kiss her quickly on the cheek, before climbing out of bed and throwing his pants on, hurriedly doing up the buckle on his belt, before stubbing out the cigarette dangling out of his mouth, turning to leave the room, his eyes cold.

"Where ya going?" Beth suddenly said, her face dropping, studying her husband with wide confused eyes, still clutching her acceptance letter firmly in her hand.

"Going to take a piss," he said as he walked out the room without looking at her.

Hearing him walking across the landing and down the stairs, Beth let out a small sigh, reaching under her pillow for the little pair of shorts and t-shirt she always slept in, shaking out her long blonde hair behind her as she pulled the t-shirt over her head, 'sometimes he could be such an ass' she thought to herself as she looked around for her cellphone, her heart sinking.

Dressed in just his jeans, Daryl stumbled around his and Beth's kitchen topless searching for something to eat, opening the fridge and pulling out a beer, allowing the lid to fall noisily to the floor as he opened it and took a long swig. Placing it down, he rummaged further to find some left over cold meats, pulling them out of the fridge and tearing at them with his fingers, feeling a strange mixture of dread, slight excitement and anxiety.

It wasn't that he wasn't happy for Beth, because even if he couldn't show it, he was, really happy and proud.

Beth was smart, smarter than he was, unlike him she had come from a good family, she had strong values and she had always been destined to do something great like study medicine and become a doctor of some sorts. The idea that he would have married a girl like that before would have been unthinkable. It wasn't just their difference in age, it was their complete difference in upbringings, they came from different worlds.

None of that had mattered before though when they had been struggling to survive together during the apocalypse. When it had just been the two of them counting on each other to stay alive, as well as the times with their larger close group of survivors. No one had given a shit about who anyone had been before, all that had mattered was who they were then, what they could contribute and Daryl's skills had been in high demand, he had been greatly needed and respected by everyone. The world might have been turned upside down, but in a strange way Daryl had never felt more at peace with himself than back in those times.

But right now, the insecure defensive side of Daryl was starting to creep back in. As he wondered whether those differences were starting to resurface. Beth was not only smart, she was beautiful too and the sweetest soul he had ever met. He wasn't stupid, he knew she was a rare jewel in the new world now. He knew there were plenty of men that would love to be in his shoes. So far they had managed to keep it as just the two of them, caught up in their own little bubble, not needing or wanting to be around many other people. But he wondered how things were going to change now she was moving on. Because he knew he couldn't lose her now. He wouldn't survive….

* * *

**A/N - Sorry but couldn't have it all fluff, there are going to be some struggles for them ahead, (but nothing too bad), I am also hoping to bring in some other characters too. Possibly Maggie and Carol. Thanks for reading :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N - Wow, thanks for the great response to the story, I'm so excited to keep writing more for these two. This chapter was quite long, so I split in in to two, will post the next half very soon.**

* * *

"_I got it," Beth said excitedly, clutching Daryl's beloved crossbow in her hands, screwing her left eye closed, concentrating intently on the sight of the wild deer innocently chewing on some greenery in the distance. _

"_That's it, just over to the left a little," Daryl said patiently, coming up closely behind the young blonde, tickling the side of her neck with the ends of his long hair, causing a small shiver to run across her with the sensation of his soft warm breath on her skin. "Take your time, concentrate," he instructed further, his body pressing gently against hers._

_Beth shivered some more, trying to shake off the feeling of Daryl's presence and focus only on shooting the poor unsuspecting animal in front of her. Slowly, confidentiality, she pulled the crossbow back, releasing the deadly weapon in to the air as it flew in a single straight line striking the back of the animal neatly on the back of it's head, causing her to break in to a wide grin as it collapsed to the ground._

"_Told ya I didn't need your help anymore," she said playfully, raising her eyebrows at Daryl, flashing him a triumphant smile, darting off in to the distance to retrieve her prize._

_Daryl shook his head, his eyes following her, unable to stop himself from smiling too as he took off after her._

…_._

_Beth stood frozen to the spot, a lump forming in her throat as she stared up at the once beautiful building, appearing out of no-where in front of her. It wasn't too dissimilar to her old home, except this place was completely run down and considerably smaller, but it was still a traditional two storey with a white picket fence, pretty windows and wide front door. _

"_What you waiting for?" Daryl said, reaching where Beth was stood motionless over the dead animal, his eyes sweeping over the house in front of her too. He bent down without saying anything, pulling his arrow out of the dead deer lying on the ground._

"_You think we should go in?" Beth said still wide eyed._

_Daryl stood up, turning his attention fully to the building in front of them now. It was just another deserted house, there could be something of value in there, but more__ than likely not."Might as well take a look, but we'll have to be quick, I told the others we'd meet them back at the car," he said moving forwards to the front door, signalling with his hand for Beth to follow him._

"_Stay close," he said in a low voice, forcing the door._

_Beth felt her heart race, full of anticipation as she followed Daryl's orders, leaning her slight body into his as she shadowed him. It wasn't that she couldn't take care of herself and he knew that, she certainly wasn't the same scared little girl she had been back at the prison, but somehow it just felt more comforting to stay close to him. _It wasn't the first time Beth had offered to join Daryl and the others on a run. Since they had rescued her from the hospital she had become an invaluable member of the group in more ways than one, she'd changed, she was stronger and braver, more willing to take risks. Despite that Daryl still felt the urge to protect her, more so than any of the other members of their group. He'd nearly lost her once and he wasn't about to let that happen again. There _was very much an unspoken close bond between them still, they were friends, but the lines were blurred, their deep friendship had been unexpected but was growing every day, and slowly it was becoming more and more acceptable for them to get in to each others personal space._

_Beth sensed Daryl's intense concentration, his chest slowly breathing in and out as he carefully stepped inside, crossbow raised. Her small fingers curled tightly around the pistol tucked in to the waistband of her jeans. Still following closey behind him Beth drew in a small breath, inhaling Daryl's familiar manly scent, it was deep and musky, mixed with sweat and leather, it was just Daryl. It made her feel safe and secure. _

"_Don't look like anyone's been here for a while," Daryl said moving further in to the house as they broke apart, stepping over a pile of old junk in the hallway leading them in to the main living room. _

_She didn't say anything, her eyes moving across the debris and broken furniture in the room, feeling strangely emotional. Normally she was desensitized to this kind of thing now, destroyed homes, crushed lives, and shattered dreams, they were the norm in the world these days. But there was something about this place that got to her. The décor was just as she would have had it had this been her own home. The peeling wallpaper and ripped up sofas would have once been snug and cosy, the pretty little fireplace covered now with dents and red blood stains, would once have been warm and inviting. _

_She moved a little closer to the fireplace as something caught her eye, a flash of silver, rifling through the layers of dust and rubbish she picked out an old photo frame. She held it up to the light projecting through the dirty window, the glass on the picture was cracked and it was splattered with red and brown marks, but she could just about make out it was a young couple, a blonde woman and a dark haired man, they didn't look very old, this was probably their first home. They were smiling in the picture, they looked happy and relaxed, they were probably full of excitement for their future, maybe they had wanted to start a family here she thought, and just for a moment Beth thought about breaking her no crying rule as she played out an imaginary fantasy life for the tragic strangers staring back at her from the faded image in her hands, her thoughts drifting to the cruel way their story must have ended. Why shouldn't she shed a tear for what could have been? But she choked it back, quickly remembering there was no place in the world for crying anymore. _

_She turned her head to see Daryl__ noisily searching through drawers on the other side of the room. He stopped what he was doing and looked back towards her, "Nothing much of any use here, just some old candles and matches, these batteries might be okay though," he said, walking over to where Beth was still stood clutching the photo frame tightly in her hands. He glanced at it over her shoulder without saying anything._

"_You think they were happy here?" Beth said dreamily._

_Daryl just shrugged, "Maybe, before they became walker meat," he said smirking, snatching the frame from her hands, slamming it face down roughly on the top of the fireplace to remove the glass, tearing the photo out before handing it back to her, saying, "It's real silver, could make a good weapon."_

_Beth shot him a wounded look, almost disgusted._

"_What?" he replied, confusion appearing on his face, trying to work out what he had could have said or done to have upset her so much._

"_You don't get it, do you? These were real people, real living breathing people, just like us, they didn't only exist to provide us with supplies, they had hopes and dreams for the future, a future that was snatched away from them, from us, from everyone." Beth said raising her voice passionately, her eyes flashing with emotion at Daryl, moving closer to his face. _

_Daryl looked back at her still confused. His gaze swept to her big blue eyes, creamy white skin and golden blonde hair, she had to be the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on. She was so pure, so innocent still. He didn't completely understand, but he sort of did. This place, the people that had once lived here, they represented something to her, a life that could never be now. He felt her pain. _

_She remained in the same spot, her face flushed as she searched the depth of his dark blue eyes, taking in everything about the way he was looking at her, full of concern. Feeling something rocket through her, electricity of some sorts. She was experiencing that sensation more and more when he was around her._

_ Daryl was her friend, her companion, they enjoyed spending time together, they had a connection, he looked out for her, he cared about her deeply after their time alone together and he had risked everything to rescue her. But was it? Could it be? Could they? _

_She bravely took a step closer to him, holding his gaze, feeling another strong sensation she could only put down to arousal spreading through her. Looking straight in to his eyes some more for affirmation he felt it too._

_Daryl was unsure what to do at first, watching the face of the hot young blonde in front of him, moving dangerously close to his. She did things to him, he was aware of that… but this was Beth. Could he really? Was there actually a chance that?... He drew in a breath, his heart beating fast with an entirely different type of adrenaline to the one he'd experienced previously on entering the building._

_Slowly he brought his hands up to cup the sides of her face as she reached up and wrapped her arms around his forearms. He gently ran his thumb from her cheek to just under her chin._

_Beth felt as though she was about to explode with the anticipation. Was he really going to kiss her? _

_Staying like that for a moment more, Daryl eventually gulped, abruptly looking away and Beth's heart sank as he stammered awkwardly."We- we best be getting back the others will be wondering where we are, I told Glenn we wouldn't be long."_

* * *

Beth held the phone to her ear, hugging her bare knees to her chest from where she was seated sunk back into the sofa dressed in a pair of denim shorts and a baby pink top, her eyes a little red and swollen from crying.

The line crackled at first, she breathed in with anticipation, sometimes it connected sometimes it didn't, the phone lines like all other technologies these days could be pretty unpredictable still.

Eventually she relaxed a little, hearing the buzz of the dial tone. She put her thumbnail up to her lips and chewed just as she always did when she was anxious, quickly letting out a small sigh of relief as she heard a familiar comforting voice pick up from the other end.

"Maggie, it's Beth," she said, the line was faint but she could still make out her sisters voice at the other end.

"Beth, hang on a minute," Maggie said, her voice sounding a little distant not quite her usual upbeat self. "It's Beth," she yelled to someone at the other end, probably Glenn, Beth thought, "Glenn says hi," Maggie said returning to the line.

"Oh, tell him I said hi too," Beth said with a smile. It had been months since she had seen her sister and husband and she missed them.

"So, how is everything in Atlanta? " Maggie said trying to sound a little more enthusiastic, although Beth could still tell something wasn't quite right, she knew her sister, she was hiding something from her, forcing herself to sound cheerful.

"Good…really good," Beth lied, before quickly blurting out, "Maggie, I got accepted in to med school. I start next month. I'm going to be a doctor." Her sister being the one person after Daryl, Beth had been bursting to share her news with.

"Really?" Maggie said letting out an excited squeal. "Beth, that's amazing, really amazing. Daddy would be so proud," responding with genuine enthusiasm, real emotion protruding from her voice.

Beth couldn't help but beam down the phone. She had known her older sister and only living relative would be excited for her and it really picked her up. Beth also knew Maggie was right, their father would have been desperately proud if he could see her now. Perhaps he could, she thought philosophically, a single tear sliding down her pink cheek at the idea of her father at peace somewhere watching over them.

"So, Daryl must be real happy?" Maggie questioned.

Beth went silent for a second, her stomach churning, glancing out the window to their empty driveway, "Yeah, I guess," she said slowly, pausing, the line going quiet before she suddenly said, "We had a fight, he's taken off somewhere." Beth couldn't even remember what the fight had started about, something to do with her not double locking the yard door. But he'd been off with her all day, speaking to her only in moody one word answers, she'd put it down to him being tired, but she couldn't help but think it coincided with her telling him about her acceptance letter the night before. She drew in a deep breath, she loved him but sometimes she just couldn't figure him out.

"Well y'know, Daryl, he aint the best at showing his feelings," Beth's older sister said kindly.

"I know, but he don't seem at all happy about my news, he's almost acting like I've done something wrong," Beth responded, her voice wobbling a little.

This time Maggie let out a sigh, she liked Daryl a lot, with him she felt certain her younger sister would be safe, she knew he made Beth desperately happy too, but his behaviour still left a lot to be desired at times. "Listen, Beth, Daryl will be happy for you, real happy. He probably just doesn't realize it yet. He's not big on change you know that." Maggie said as Beth silently nodded down the phone, agreeing with her sister. "You going off and doing something like that, it's a big deal, he's worried how it's going to change things, because, Beth, it will change things," Maggie said wisely.

Beth shook her pretty blonde head, "No, it won't, that's stupid," she said firmly.

"Maybe to you, but not to him, he loves you more than anything, you're his world, you know that and the thought of losing you would terrify him." Maggie went on to explain.

"He aint gonna lose me," Beth said even more firmly. A wave of nausea hitting her as she couldn't help but think Maggie was partly right, it made sense. She thought back to a couple of occasions when Daryl had nearly started fist fights in bars, over other men simply looking in her direction. It had infuriated her a little, made her feel like she was a possession. None of her previous boyfriends had ever behaved like that. But then again none of her previous boyfriends had ever loved her like Daryl did, Beth knew that and she'd come to accept that his behaviour was simply a sign of that. But if he seriously thought that her becoming a doctor would change a single thing between them, he was insane, no matter what she loved him and that would never ever change. Since they had married and the outbreak had ended, they had been blissfully happy and Beth would do everything in her power to make sure things remained that way. But she was slowly starting to realize that the life they had longed for for so long, didn't come without it's own complications.

She reached for the light switch to the lamp rested on the small table beside her, filling the room with a subtle warming glow. It was amazing how quickly you went back to taking things like electricity for granted again Beth thought, as another silence followed and the line crackled, for a moment Beth wondered if it was going to go dead. "Maggie, you still there?" she said, glancing out the window to see blue neon lights flashing by, thinking how it was still so surreal to see emergency services or order of any kind, as she waited for her sisters response.

"Yeah, I'm still here," her sister replied, her voice slightly flat again.

"I'm sorry, I haven't even asked how you are?" Beth said, she'd been so wrapped up in her own little bubble for a moment she'd forgotten the concern she had felt when she had first heard her sisters voice.

"Oh, I'm fine," Maggie said, the tone in her voice suggesting otherwise.

"Well, no offence but y'don't don't sound fine," Beth responded.

There was a painful pause before Maggie eventually said, "I saw a doctor."

Beth felt her heart racing; patiently waiting for her sister to continue.

"He said there is no chance." Maggie said quietly

Beth felt her body flood with emotion for the second time that day, detecting the heartbreak in her sisters voice. Maggie and Glenn had been desperately trying for a baby for the past couple of years; they had both wanted it so badly. But Maggie had worried due to a collection of injuries she had picked up during the outbreak that she wouldn't be able to have children. Beth had tried to reassure her that wouldn't be the case, but as time had crept on, it had become more and more apparent there could be a problem. A problem that could quite possibly have been easy fixed once upon a time, but sadly not now with things the way they were in the world still.

She ran her hand through her long hair, desperately trying to think of the right thing to say to her older sister. Maggie had had her heart set on having a family with Glenn, helping to raise the next generation, a whole new beginning; she had felt certain that was her calling now. This was crushing news.

"There are still ways," Beth said gently.

"No there aint, that's it, it weren't part of our journey, that's all." Maggie said strongly, choking back a tear.

* * *

**A/N - Next chapter will be more from Daryls POV. Thanks again for reading, as always ideas welcome :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**a/n - Thanks again for the lovely reviews :) I'm going to keep writing as much as I can, until TWD returns in Feb! **

* * *

_Daryl wasn't sure if anyone could see him as he tried to remain hidden behind the trees, glancing through the pale green leaves every now and again to steal small glances in Beth's direction. A burning ache pulsing through him as he silently watched her, he half prayed the feeling would go away, it confused him, made him feel uncomfortable, this was Beth._

_She had gone off on a mission with Eugene to try and find some clean drinking water at a stream near their current camp. Daryl wasn't exactly buzzed at the idea of her alone in the woods with just Eugene for company. But no-one else had seemed to bat an eyelid, Beth could take care of herself now, she was tough, she didn't need protecting, not like she had in the early days. Daryl had wanted to offer to go with them too, but like most occasions recently; something had stopped him, settling for watching quietly from the background instead as she'd gone off on her adventure._

_..._

_Daryl had no idea how much time exactly had passed since that afternoon changing everything; days, weeks even. All he knew, was that things hadn't been the same between them since that late afternoon back in the deserted house in the woods, when he'd nearly kissed her. The day he had nearly lost all control. He had been so close to just reaching out and grabbing it. Happiness. But something had held him back, because firstly he didn't get too emotionally involved. Ever. Secondly, everyone thought Beth was just like a little sister to him, he'd even managed to convince himself of that on many occasions and he couldn't screw that up._

_Beth represented something special to him, a little ray of golden sunshine in this dark world. His reason to live and he wasn't going to just throw all that away for a stupid moment of physical lust. But no matter how much he might try to deny it, pretend it wasn't there, it was. Desire. Full on sexual desire. She might be younger than him, she might be his friend, but he was slowly starting to realize her wanted her in a way he had never wanted anyone before. His body longed for hers. It had always been there at the back of his mind, even back at the prison and after, when it had just been the two of them, but he had somehow managed to push it away, there were other more important things to think about back then, like keeping them both alive._

_..._

_He drew in a breath as he watched her some more, she was crouching down next to Eugene, examining some water in a thin plastic bottle, her blonde hair was tied up, falling down her back in loose waves, her eyes were round and curious, concentration etched on her face. Daryl's eyes narrowed, his heart pounding he hadn't intended to follow them, they hadn't ventured far, he'd gone out too and it had just sort of happened._

_With his eyes still firmly fixed on her, Daryl felt his palms screw in to tight fists as he watched Eugene touch her arm, causing her to break in to a small ripple of laughter._

_Then everything seemed to happen so fast. Out of no-where, lazily ambling towards them a small herd of five maybe six walkers appeared. Maybe they had been attracted by Beth's laughter or Eugene's loud voice, it didn't really matter all Daryl saw was imminent danger._

_Luckily the amount of noise the monsters were making snarling and drawling was enough to alert both Beth and Eugene. Beth turned around, 'don't scream' Daryl silently willed as he detected the look of terror flash across her pretty blue eyes._

_Keeping her cool, Beth reached to her waist for the pistol Daryl had insisted she carried on her at all times, shakily pointing it at the nearest one knocking it to the ground. The noise of the gunshot enough to attract the attention of the entire group to the young blonde as Eugene darted away in the opposite direction and in to the distance, closely tailed by a couple of the walkers at the back, alerted by his sudden movement._

_Daryl knew he had to act fast, there was a lot for Beth to fight off on her own, adrenaline pulsing through him, he raised his cross bow, expertly firing taking out the three remaining, one by one, causing them to topple in to a big heap on top of Beth._

_"Beth, Beth, you okay?" he said anxiously, dashing towards her, his hands shaking, throwing the foul beasts off her as quickly as he could. She didn't answer, causing a deep thud of anxiety to hit his stomach, his heart rate speeding up dramatically; he couldn't lose her now, not like this._

_"I'm okay," Beth eventually muttered, looking up at Daryl bent over her, his face full of panic._

_"You get bit?" he questioned, reaching out for her hand pulling her up to a sitting position._

_Beth was speechless at first, slowly getting her breath back, her blue eyes sparkling in the reflection of the clear water from the stream next to her. One minute she had seen her life flashing before her, the next out of no-where Daryl was here again, "No- no, I'm fine," she stammered, allowing him to pull her up further to standing. Her legs wobbling slightly, still clutching hold of his hand, she leaned back against the nearest tree._

_Daryl inched a step closer to her, the look of fear in her eyes making him realize just how vulnerable she still was, she'd come a long way since the start of the outbreak she was tougher than ever now, but she still needed them, needed him._

_Looking back at him, without even thinking Beth suddenly found her arms were flung around Daryl's neck, burying her face in to his muscular torso. He'd been weird recently and she'd missed him. but he had just saved her life again. _

_Beth had known things had been slightly off between them of late, she had worried she had ruined their friendship after their near kiss. Not to mention she had felt hurt and a little humiliated at his brush off and avoidance since. He was so difficult to read. But the way he had just appeared, the way he had looked down at her moments before, his dark blue eyes full of emotion, she knew she meant something to him, something special._

_As the hug gently broke apart, Daryl found his forehead touching hers, his breath hot against her cheek. Beth gripped the back of his shirt tightly. His fingers curled around her waist gently tugging her towards him. Adrenaline surged through Daryl's veins as his strong bare arms drew her even closer. Unable to stop this time, she was so close, his mouth suddenly crushed against hers, the kiss full of pent up desire. Beth pressed closer, grabbing a handful of his hair. Daryl ran his tongue across her lips, just as soft as he'd imagined. Beth's tongue crept out to meet his, teasing. Taking the lead, Daryl slid his tongue fully in to her mouth, tasting her, pressing deeper, closer, he wasn't used to this but it seemed to come so naturally. Her upper body arched towards his, speaking to him with subtle movements. His hands moved upwards over her t-shirt, closing around her small sensitive breasts. Through his jeans she felt him harden._

_Daryl could no longer hold back, he knew before the outbreak the thought of anything happening between him and Beth would have been absurd. But in the strange world they lived in now, being with her had awoken something in him, a feeling he had kept locked away for a very long time, a need he could no longer control. _

_The kiss speeding up, they both thought on some levels it wasn't proper, but they didn't understand how it could be so wrong when it felt so right._

_Lost in the moment, it didn't bother them at first, the low whirring sound in the distance, almost like a high pitch vacuum cleaner getting closer and closer, a sound that at one time would have been so completely mundane and every day. But as the deep whooshing sound got louder and louder it caused them to abruptly pull apart. It most definitely wasn't the norm to hear that sound now, it was a sound that most had given up hope of ever hearing again._

_"Is that?" Beth said starry eyed, her mouth gaping open in shock and slight amazement, gazing up in to the sky, the breeze blowing her hair across her face a little._

_Daryl put his hand up to his forehead to get a better look, "Yep," he replied in equal shock as they both continued to look up at the large impressive aircraft flying overhead….._

* * *

Four years later

Daryl knew exactly where he was heading as his motorcycle raced along the deserted highway, the wind blowing the ends of his hair as he picked up speed, in this brief moment he felt free, alive . He felt his cell phone digging in to his trouser pocket, a painful reminder of the calls he had ignored from Beth. He knew he was being an ass but he had things he needed to figure out.

It had been a long time since he had been out on his motorcycle; Beth had all but forbidden it. Said she'd had enough worrying about whether he'd come home in one piece or not for a lifetime. But right now Daryl didn't care, he needed to get away to think. Leave the city and her questioning eyes behind for a while.

Stepping through the overgrown weeds leading up to the front door, he knocked loudly. After a while when there was no reply, he walked around to the side, peering through the window. "Carol," he yelled, "Carol, I know you're in there, it's Daryl."

He waited patiently back at the door, before eventually it opened. "Daryl," Carol said with a weak smile, a small twinkle forming in her eye. He didn't say anything just stepped forward throwing his arms around his old friend. It had been a while since he had spoken to her, time was flying by so quickly now and he missed her.

"What you doing here?" Carol questioned as she led him in to her front room. Gesturing for him to sit down, moving a pile of clothes and an old blanket from the sofa.

"Beer?" she said handing him a bottle as he sat. He took it, nodding his head in gratitude, putting the cool glass to his lips to drink, a small thing he completely took for granted now as he breathed out satisfied, wiping his mouth as he slowly removed the beverage.

Daryl glanced around, he could tell she wasn't in a good place still, he mentally compared her unkept house to his and Beth's immaculate home and he felt grateful as well as a little sad, Carol deserved better.

But Carol like most people nowadays was still having a hard time getting back to reality and carving out some sort of normal life for herself now the outbreak was over, and after everything they had been through and had to do to stay alive during that time.

"Can't I just stop by and say hello?" he said moodily in response to her question moments earlier.

Remaining silent, Carol simply raised her eyebrows in response.

Daryl looked down at the floor, he hated she could read him so well.

"Beth got accepted into med school, she's going to be a doctor," he suddenly blurted out.

"Well, that's great," Carol replied a genuine smile spreading across her face. "Isn't it?" she added, confusion appearing in her eyes, noticing Daryl's small scowl. Beth and Daryl had been an unlikely couple, but Carol had seen firsthand despite the age gap and their apparent differences, how they had just seemed to fit together and in the world of horror they had experienced it was a welcome bit of light.

"I guess," he said sullenly, before shaking his head and going on to say, "I don't know what we're doing anymore. I'm working every hour in some goddam dead end job, just trying to keep a roof over our head, arguing with Beth over who takes out the trash and what colour to paint the damn bathroom. Not so long ago, we were fighting off human corpses, looting, killing, doing whatever we could to survive. We had a mission, passion for something, life had a purpose…."

"You really wanna go back to that?" Carol exclaimed, her eyes wide and questioning.

A long silence followed, both pondering the answer to such an enormous question. Life had been hell back then, but they had had a clear purpose, there was no bullshit, no rules, no superficial everyday worries, they had both slotted in to that world perfectly. Beth had once said to Daryl that he was made for the world back then, and he was starting to think that maybe she was right. Because right now he wasn't so sure he was made for the new world they lived in.

Carol sighed, "Life back then was a thousand times worse, Daryl, we had no idea what was around the corner, there was no hope, nothing, just blackness. Yes, we had a misson, our misson was to find this." she said slowly.

"Why don't you come back with me? You can stay with us," Daryl said looking back at his dear friend, she had helped him through so much, she had become so brave and strong, he hated seeing her so broken and lost now. He knew she had her demons, but so did he. He didn't understand why she insisted on staying out here on her own. "Beth won't mind," he added, looking at her intently.

Carol didn't respond, arching her eyebrows a little, "She won't," Daryl assured.

"I know, but I'm just fine here, I like it," she said, her voice warming up, she meant it, she didn't want to be on her own forever, but for now it was right.

"Suit yourself," Daryl replied bluntly.

"Beth still needs you, Daryl," Carol said after another pause. "Maybe she doesn't need you to save her from a ton of walkers anymore or from the Govner or Dawn, but she still needs you to survive and you need her."

Daryl remained silent allowing her to carry on talking.

"She's going to go on to great things, but so are you. The world isn't the same as it was before and you're not the same person you were before the outbreak either, you're different and you've got Beth, so don't screw it up, because you know she thinks the world of you." Carol went on to say.

Daryl scowled, he wasn't quite sure he saw it like that yet, but he knew on some levels Carol was right, he needed to try. "Yeah, well don't think I'm exactly her favourite person right now," he said gruffly.

"Go home, tell her you're sorry and give her hot make up sex, she'll soon come round," Carol added with a smirk.

Daryl felt his cheeks flush slightly, he wasn't entirely comfortable with Carol talking about his wife like that, but she was right, he knew she was.

* * *

a**/n - Thanks again for reading. Pleas let me know your thoughts (next chapter there will be lots of hot Beth and Daryl action ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N - Thanks everyone for reviewing and following this story. I'm really enjoying updating it. Here is a little treat for y'all. Happy new year! Warning: This chapter is definite M territory!**

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_Daryl glanced backwards to see that Beth had stopped walking. She was standing still on the road, her light blonde hair sparkling in the late afternoon sun. _

"_You okay?" he muttered, wandering back to where she was stood._

"_Yeah, sorry, I just needed to stop a sec," Beth replied, holding her hand to her lower back. They had been walking for hours now, with little food or water and she was exhausted. "You go on, I can catch you up," she added, looking to where the silhouettes of a few of the other members of their group were fading in to the distance. She could only clearly make Carol out now, who was walking slightly slower having baby Judith strapped to her front._

_Daryl ignored Beth's request, instead producing a bottle of water from his backpack, handing it to her. "Here," he said in a low but not unkind voice._

_Beth waved her hand at him, "Nah, we need to save it, for when we really need it."_

"_You really need it now," he responded, pressing it in to her palm this time, his hair blowing across his eye with the early evening breeze. His eyes fixed directly on her, full of concern._

"_Thanks," Beth said meekly as she slowly unscrewed the top, putting it to her lips to sip._

_Daryl continued to watch the young naturally gorgeous blonde stood in front of him. Despite the fact that he had barely had two seconds alone with her over the past few weeks, he still felt responsible for her. He always would._

_He couldn't deny that he had been keeping his distance from her again though. It wasn't like last time. He didn't regret the kiss that had taken place between them, however uncomfortable it made him feel now. But everything had turned so crazy, had moved so fast from that point on, that there had scarcely been time to think about it again since. He had realized he needed to focus on other things. _

_They had raced back to their camp to inform the rest of the group, after their kiss had suddenly been interrupted by the astonishing sight of a large aeroplane flying above them. After which, more and more weird shit had started happening around their group. More aeroplanes had suddenly been popping in to the sky, plus fresh tyre tracks were strangely appearing all over the muddy roads around their camp, and most concerning of all, they had found leaflets scattered around the area covering their camp, stating in bold red text, 'URGENT MESSAGE GO TO YOUR NEAREST TOWN'._

_They'd had precisely no clue who was behind it, and it went without saying they were suspicious, but proceeding with extreme caution, Rick had decided they should take to the roads again, try and find vehicles and approach the outskirts of the next town they came in to contact with, so they could investigate what the hell was going on. _

_With that decision in mind, Daryl knew he had to resume his position in the group as Rick's right hand man. They were counting on him. So any sort of fooling around with Beth was now out of the question. Or so he told himself anyway and he'd kept his distance a little again, whilst still keeping an eye on her from afar._

_..._

_Silently Beth screwed the top back on his bottle, handing it back to him. Indicating with her head she was ready to go on. She knew he had been going slowly waiting for her. She wasn't as fast as some of the others. In a way his concern annoyed her slightly, it was almost as though he thought she was weak still, but in another way she was thankful and happy he had stayed back with her. This was the first time they had been alone in ages. _

_If she was honest Beth still couldn't quite work Daryl out. He could be so introverted and distant sometimes. She knew he cared about her, a lot. Having completely taken her by surprise, kissing her out of the blue by the river the day he'd saved her from a walker attack, the day they'd first seen the plane. But he had also been pretty hot and cold since. Half the time recently he had almost acted as though she didn't exist even, but then she would catch him staring at her when he thought she wasn't looking, and he had barely left her side since they had taken to the road again earlier that day, despite hardly uttering a word. _

_As he did up his backpack, Beth drew in a breath working up the courage to confront him about his behaviour towards her. She knew before they went on again, she wanted to clear the air now, she just couldn't bear the atmosphere between them anymore, "Daryl, I – " She said, glancing at him as he looked away and she hesitated. _

_She opened her mouth to start again, but before she had the chance to continue, he suddenly grabbed hold of her arm firmly, dragging her violently in to the bushes to the side of the road._

"_What the.." she started, his grip tightening on her arm, burning her skin as she stopped mid sentence her mouth falling open, her eyes looking out through the camouflage of the trees, resting on the sight of a large army truck in the distance. It was stopped in the middle of the road, a group of about four or five men in army uniforms with large machine guns wandering around by the side of it, two of them forcing what looked like a terrified Carol and baby Judith up and on to it. _

"Quick, w_e gotta do something, now," Beth yelled._

"_Ssshhh.." Daryl hissed in a fierce whisper, clamping his rough hand over her mouth. _

"_Daryl, that's Carol and baby Judith, we gotta go and help them," Beth whispered, wriggling out of his grip, panic flooding her face, adding, "They could have more of our people, Maggie was further up there too. We have to help."_

"_We will," Daryl said, his face flushing bright red with anger, scarcely able to control himself, everything in him screaming to rush out guns blazing towards the men taking Carol and Judith. But if there was one thing he had learnt from recent times, it was think first and act second. He would more than likely get them all killed if he tried anything reckless like that now. He had his crossbow and a gun, Beth had a gun and a knife, but they would be significantly outnumbered. So he was faced with no choice but to sit back and observe, try and work out where they were going and what they were doing. That way he could wait for the back up of the rest of their group, and that way they might all have a chance._

"_They're going. Where are they taking them?" Beth exclaimed as the truck slowly drove off in to the distance. _

_Daryl stood up, without looking at Beth he said gruffly, "We gotta keep off the roads, there could be more of em.. We'll need to keep to the woods, then further up join the road again and pick up their tracks. The others will be further up there too, we can regroup, warn them."_

_Beth didn't need to look at his face to know he was worried. If they had taken Carol there had to be a good chance they had taken the rest of their group too. Silently she got to her feet and followed him. This time he made no special consideration for her, marching ahead, his eyes cold and fierce. _

_They walked on for what seemed like hours, Daryl walking ahead in stony silence, Beth doing her best to keep up with him. She had opened her mouth to speak a few times before thinking better of it after seeing the expression on his surly face. She had found out the hard way that when he was in one of these moods, it was best to leave him alone. _

_Eventually he slowed down and catching up to him, Beth said hesitantly, "It's going to be dark soon, we need to try and find the others."_

"_We ain't going to find em tonight,," he mumbled throwing his backpack down on to the ground violently. _

"_We have to try," Beth pleaded her voice shaking._

"_What part of we're not going to find them, don't ya get?" he replied bluntly, before raising his voice even more, saying, "You want to be wandering round the woods in the pitch black all night? Be my guest princes." Before his voice softened slightly and he added, "You need rest."_

"_You need rest too," Beth snapped back, leaning down, gathering some branches to get a fire started. _

"_I need to think," he said in a low voice, almost to himself more than anything. _

_Beth carried on building the fire as another uncomfortable silence fell. She knew Daryl was furious and in a way he blamed himself for not being there to help Carol and Judith. But she wished he wouldn't take it out on her. _

…_._

"_You okay?" Daryl eventually mumbled, his voice calmer, looking sideways to where Beth was huddled next to him by the small fire they had managed to get going._

_Beth just nodded, pulling her hooded jacket a little tighter around herself as she shivered. The nights were getting colder now with the shifting seasons the further north they were getting. She didn't respond further, she could tell by the way Daryl was looking at her that he felt bad for the way he had treated her earlier, now that he'd had time to cool off a little. _

"_You cold?" he said, his eyes resting on her slight shivering frame, edging slightly closer to where she was sat, genuine concern etched on his face._

_Beth shrugged, she didn't want to admit it but she was freezing, unable to hide her chattering teeth and trembling lower lip. Just as fine droplets of rain started to fall around them. Causing her to shiver even more._

"_Here," Daryl said, moving closer towards her, wrapping his arm around her, rubbing her back. _

"_Thanks," Beth muttered, warming slightly from his body heat. She had craved this kind of comfort from him for months. But right now, although his gesture was well meaning it was very methodical and lacking in any sort of genuine affection or passion, it was purely about survival. It would have been the same had it been Rick, Tyresse or Glenn that she had been stranded out here with._

"_Can't build the fire up anymore, don't want to attract too much attention," he mumbled as he continued to lightly rub her back._

"_How have we got back here?" Beth suddenly blurted out, shaking her head, allowing a small laugh to escape her lips with the irony. It was almost like they'd travelled back in time to those first few days after the fall of the prison, when it had just been the two of them, scared, alone and angry._

"_What ya mean?" He questioned his eyes screwing up with confusion. _

"_You and me alone in the woods," Beth continued, allowing herself to relax a little more now next to him. _

_He didn't say anything, but Beth knew he was thinking back to that time too. His body was becoming less stiff and more comfortable as he continued to hold her close to him _

_Beth then thought about how it might just be the two of them again, but everything had changed. She had been younger and more naïve back then, more trusting, she had also been nursing a slight crush on Daryl, whilst he had pretty much acted indifferent to her in that way. But her schoolgirl crush had been nothing compared to the feelings she was developing for the rough redneck now. Unlike then also, Beth now knew, despite his frustrating behaviours, Daryl had some sort of feelings for her too. _

_Beth pressed herself in a little closer to him, digging her nails in to her palm. She knew he had reservations about showing his feelings for her, but surely whatever those reservations were they were irrelevant in their world now. They needed to live in the moment, he just needed to see that. She bit her lip, "Y'know," she started, "If I hadn't slowed down, we would have been taken too, who knows where we would be now."_

_He still didn't respond as Beth carried on bravely, "It makes you realise, we wake up each day knowing there is a very good chance it could be our last. All this fighting, surviving, we have to grab hold of the good things while we still can. No regrets."_

_She trailed off unsure of how her statement had been received, whether the handsome archer had realized what she had been getting at or not. _

_He remained silent, but in response she felt his fingers moving a little lower down her back as he drew her even closer to him, allowing her to rest her head on his muscular chest so she could hear his heart beating against her ear. Slowly and carefully he stroked the top of her silky blonde hair, the caress full of affection this time as the bitter night air whipped through them both, causing her to lean even further in to him. _

_Beth didn't care that Daryl wasn't talking, his actions told her all she needed to know. Her whole body warming with the feel of his beside her, and l__eaning down still keeping the closeness between them he gently planted a small kiss on the side of her head. _

_When the rest of their group had been around and there had been talk of making plans for the future, this kind of behaviour between them would have been unthinkable to Daryl. Any kind of romantic relationship with Beth would be out of the question. Despite the kiss they had shared in private, getting close to her in that way in public would just not be an option. However, Daryl wasn't quite sure why, but when it was just the two of them alone together, being with her felt so natural, so right. The closeness and intimacy between them came so easily, it was as though there was an invisible force drawing them together._

_Beth turned to look at him, moving backwards slightly so they were facing, their eyes locking together. "I –I," she started again hesitantly, a strand of her wet hair from the rain suddenly plastering itself across her lips, silencing her. _

_This time he responded by moving his thumb up to lightly brush it away, wiping the moisture from her lips so he could taste her as he slowly found himself moving in to kiss her. Their lips locking lightly at first, before speeding up, the pressure increasing as they released all the tension that had been building over the past few weeks._

"_What was that?" Beth said as they both suddenly broke apart hearing a twig snap._

_Daryl immediately reached for his crossbow, holding it up in the direction of the dark trees in front of them alerted to danger as several more twigs snapped. and a dark figure suddenly appeared with a gun pointed in their direction. _

"_It's okay, y'all can come out," Rick yelled back at the trees grinning at Daryl and Beth as their leader came fully in to sight. Carl, Tyreese, Abraham, Eugene, Gabriel, Glenn and Maggie slowly appearing after him weapons poised._

"_Beth," Maggie said dropping her gun, rushing towards her sister flinging her arms around her crushing her slightly. "You're okay, oh thank God, you're okay, they didn't get you." she exclaimed her face full of relief._

_Beth hugged her sister, a little taken aback. They had only been parted a few hours. She knew Maggie was a little over protective of her now more than ever, but still._

"_There are people rounding up all the females." Rick explained, "Michonne, Sasha, Tara, Rosita. Maggie was the only one they didn't see."_

"_They got Carol and Judith too," Daryl said, watching as a fresh look of fury formed in the sheriff's eyes._

"_Okay, listen up everyone," Rick said loudly. "We all need to stick together now. No splitting up in to smaller groups again, we keep closely as one group. We are going to need each other…Some very weird shit is going down..."_

* * *

Four years later

Daryl closed the door carefully, making his way towards the front room of the house he shared with Beth. He could hear voices so he knew she wasn't alone.

Beth felt her stomach flip, hearing Daryl's footsteps approaching. She bit her lip, glancing at Noah. He shifted awkwardly; there was always for some reason a slight air of tension between her gruff redneck husband and her younger more laid back friend.

"How's it going?" Daryl said sheepishly as he entered the room. Looking from Beth to Noah, avoiding eye contact with his wife. Forcing a friendly nod in Noah's direction.

"You're back," Beth said coldly.

"Yeah," he mumbled a tad guiltily.

"It's err..getting late, I'd better be going," Noah said rising to his feet.

"You don't have to," Beth said defensively looking at her friend. Apart from Daryl, Noah was the only person in Atlanta that she could trust these days, whenever she needed him he was always there for her.

"Don't go on my account, man," Daryl added awkwardly. Normally he was a little off hand with his wife's friend, but he knew he had some grovelling to do on this particular occasion, which meant he had to at least try and make the effort to be civil.

"No, really, I need to be getting back, I've got a delivery coming in tonight," Noah said turning towards the door. He ran a small bar a few blocks away. Beth could never quite understand why he still stuck around the rundown mess that was the former city of Atlanta. But selfishly she was glad that he did.

"Noah came by to drop off a book on medicine for me, his uncle was a trauma surgeon," Beth explained to Daryl.

"Oh," Daryl grunted in response.

…

As the front door closed, Daryl leaned in to kiss Beth. She wrinkled her nose and pushed him away, she could smell the alcohol on his breath. She was pretty mad at him for just taking off on his bike earlier that day after their argument, but she knew now wasn't the time to bring it up she was tired. She'd talk to him about it the next day after they'd both had some sleep. Without saying a word she turned to walk towards their kitchen.

Daryl had other plans as she heard him follow her. She opened the dishwasher and started unloading the content, sensing his presence in the doorway to the room, ignoring him, feeling his eyes following her every move.

"Where were you?" Beth eventually questioned.

"I was with Carol, had a few beers," Daryl replied quietly.

"Oh," Beth responded practically throwing the silverware in to the drawer. She wasn't quite sure why that annoyed her even more. But ever since she and Daryl had married things had been slightly awkward with Carol. It wasn't that Beth thought the older woman was in love with Daryl or anything, maybe once, but not now. But she would always have a close bond with Beth's husband, one that Beth herself would never fully understand.

"How is she?" Beth added, still avoiding eye contact with him.

"She had a few interesting theories about you?" Daryl said, his gaze still fixed on his wife.

"Oh yeah," Beth replied.

"Reckons, you're going to go on to do great things….and, I,...I, overreacted, because I don't want things to change or something… " he mumbled. This time looking away and down at the floor.

"And what do you think?" Beth said, her tone softening slightly. She knew Daryl and this was about as close to an apology as he was capable of.

He shrugged, taking a step further towards his wife. This time reaching for her more cautiously, placing his hands around her waist drawing her towards him looking in to her eyes.

Slowly his lips meet hers, her arms instinctively flying around his neck. His hands tightening on her waist as he hoisted her up on to their worktop, his lips moving down to press in to the skin on the side of her neck.

Beth could feel her breath quickening as she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist. He reached down to undo the button to her jeans, yanking them down. Lunging back in to another passionate kiss. Daryl put everything in to that kiss, showing his emotions didn't come easily but they flowed in to that kiss. He loved Beth with everything in him. He would never intentionally hurt her, and he would continue to fight for her despite his insecurities, until the day he died.

Within seconds the air between them became more and more electric, their minds wiped clean of anything that had been bothering them before. All that mattered was the moment. All that counted was happening here, in their embrace. Both forever thankful, never forgetting the times when they had been starved of these kinds of intimate moments.

Beth still had her arms around Daryl's neck, his hands holding her body tightly against his strong muscular frame. His hands wrestling their way underneath her shirt exploring the soft smooth skin on her back. She wriggled slightly, letting him know she was ready for him to take her shirt off. Obliging he slid it off with one swift movement. Breaking the kiss, undoing the clasp on her black lacy bra allowing it to fall to the floor, causing her to give him a brief look of longing communicating her need for him. Her hands roaming his upper body, tugging his shirt off in the process, while he started kissing her behind her ear and down her neck causing her to sigh contently. Beth traced the muscles on his chest back up to his neck, as he looked deep in to her eyes, trying to tell her how much he wanted her.

She wriggled down the work top slightly and out of her jeans in the process, and she pushed him backwards trailing kisses down his front, feeling his muscular upper body tense with the sensation of her touch, making him groan in satisfaction. She momentarily played with the waist band of his jeans, teasing him, before slipping her hands inside his underpants, feeling his hardness, causing him to moan even more as his head fell back. Pushing his pants down, she released his huge erection, rubbing it up and down in her hands. Her lips moving down his body some more, the ends of her hair tickling him. "Beth, please," he said torn between not wanting to come like that and his ultimate pleasure. He reached down to gently prize her hands away from him as he held them up and above her neck. Allowing his fingers to trickle down slowly between her legs removing her panties exploring her with his fingers, watching as she let out a small moan, his mouth then moving down to suck hard on her right nipple.

Beth tangled her fingers in his long hair moaning in ecstasy. She was breathing uncontrollably as he withdraw his mouth slightly, desperate to feel him inside her, she pushed him backwards with the palms of her hands, hooking her legs even further around his hips as he guided himself in to her and they started moving quickly. they knew each other's bodies so well now. Beth couldn't think anymore. She couldn't breathe anymore. All she could do was drown in the sensation of his hardness moving inside her. They fit perfectly.

She was driving Daryl mad with her young fit body and how it was making him feel, how it always made him feel, he needed her so much, harder, deeper. He drew her to him again pressing their lips together in another passionate kiss, causing them to both groan deeply. Their climaxes coming quickly, Daryl coming hard inside her, Beth feeling her head fly back as she cried out his name multiple times. Both their heart beats racing together, vibrating all over their bodies in to every cell, as they tried to capture their breath.

Beth moved to rest her head against his shoulder. Her heart rate slowing down. Remembering just how she still felt every single time they made love, as though all was right in the world. Nothing else mattered.

They had been through the ultimate darkness and somehow come out the other side, they had a chance now, she wouldn't allow it to slip away.

* * *

**a/n - Thanks again for reading, would love to hear any more reviews :)**


	6. Chapter 6

_Beth tugged at the end of her fishing rod, trying to manoeuvre it slightly. Flustered, she put her hand up to shade her eyes from the bright early morning sun._

"_Nah, you need to move it in a little." Maggie said a little bossily, from where she was sat beside her, fishing rod in hand too._

_Beth ignored her older sister, pressing her lips together as she half heartedly followed her instructions. The two women had strayed just a stones throw away from their camp to try and catch some fish in a near by stream. It wasn't something either was particularly practiced at and it was kind of a long shot, but worth a try._

_Glenn had managed to put some fishing equipment together for them, he was keeping watch back at the camp, having originally planned to go with Maggie, Beth had persuaded him to let her go in his place. She had been going out of her mind a little back at their latest make shift camp. She knew everyone was worried for her and Maggie's safety now that they were the only two remaining girls left. But Beth wanted to contribute. Plus, there was something she wanted to talk to Maggie about alone too._

_They'd been homeless again for a few weeks. Their plans to go to the nearest town put on hold, whilst they tried to work out who had captured their friends. How they could get them back. They knew they needed to lie low, while they tried to figure out who the mysterious men with guns were, what they could do. Beth and Maggie being particularly vulnerable._

"_Something on you mind?" Maggie questioned, noting her sister's unusually quiet mood._

"_Umm..nah," Beth said hesitantly, looking down at the stream in front of her, avoiding eye contact.._

"_Okay, spit it out," Maggie responded. She knew her sister, and she knew there was something playing on her mind. Beth had always been the more reserved of the two, she could appear quiet and thoughtful when she was worried about something, compared to Maggie's open and more outgoing nature. _

_Beth fidgeted a little nervously, before turning to look straight at her sister this time, still gripping her fishing rod with one hand, brushing a strand of stray hair away from her eye with the other. Before eventually she worked up the courage, "I was just wonderin, what you do, for, y'know…contraception and stuff.." she said, embarrassment flashing across her face, her cheeks turning pink. _

_Maggie nearly dropped her fishing rod straight out of her hands as she immediately stopped what she was doing, her mouth gaping open, her eyes wide and surprised, turning to look at her younger sister, presenting her with her full attention. She had certainly not been expecting her to come out with that. The small seemingly innocent question had more than aroused Maggie's curiosity and also slight suspicion._

"_You're sleeping with someone?" she questioned directly._

"_No," Beth was quick to protest firmly, looking back at her sister._

"_You're planning to sleep with someone?" Maggie was quick to respond back._

_This time Beth didn't answer, allowing her silence to confirm her sister's suspicions. Choosing to look away and back at the stream in front of her. She had known this conversation was never going to be easy._

"_Who?" Maggie questioned further._

_Again Beth remained silent. She wasn't quite sure why she was finding this so difficult, but she was. Waiting for Maggie to say the inevitable._

"_Rick," Maggie said confidently. Thinking their leader was clearly the obvious and only choice for her sister to get involved with in that way. He was older than Beth, but he was single now, good looking, and he was also brave and strong, he led them all, and Maggie could easily see how he could become attractive to Beth._

"_No," Beth exclaimed, shaking her head. Putting her rod down, feeling a rush of butterflies. Bracing herself for Maggie to say 'his' name next._

_Instead Maggie fell quiet for a second, searching through the remaining male members of their group in her head. If it wasn't Rick, then who? _

"_Tyreese" she suddenly said, thinking again how it wouldn't be outside the realms of possibility for her sister to get romantically involved with him. Again he was older than Beth, but he wasn't bad looking either, he was also a decent guy, clearly experienced in how to treat the opposite sex._

"_Nooo," Beth protested, a little louder this time. _

"_Abraham," Maggie then reeled off immediately after. He wouldn't have been the first person that came to mind, and she'd be surprised, but he clearly had a thing for younger women, he was smooth, if not a little sleazy._

"_Nooo-oo," Beth said, raising her voice even more this time, almost whining. How could her sister possibly think she would want to sleep with Abraham?_

"_Then who?" Maggie said, looking even more confused. _

_Going over again who was left in her head, she said slowly," That only leaves, Eugene, Daryl…" looking as though a light bulb had just been switched on in her head, she slowly repeated, "Daryl!," the expression on her sister's face telling Maggie all she needed to know. How could she have over looked that? It was Daryl. Of course it was Daryl. How could it not have been Daryl? He should have been the first person she had thought of. The obvious choice._

_Since they had rescued her from the hospital, Daryl had shown nothing but concern for her sister, different to before back at the prison, but Maggie had just put it down to him feeling responsible for her after he'd been with her when the prison had fallen, and also wanting to look out for her now that their father wasn't around, nothing else, it was Daryl, he wasn't exactly a lady's man so Maggie has just figured they were friends. But since their new smaller group had been lying low in the woods, she couldn't deny, Beth had spent more time with him than anyone else. He had been teaching her skills, they had gone off alone together at times. It all fitted now._

"_You and Daryl?" Maggie said her eyes still fixed on her sister. Her face deadly serious, "You're sleeping with him?"_

"_No, I said it's not like that. I mean we've kissed but nothing else," Beth replied with almost relief. She had no idea how her sister would react to her revelation, but at least it was out in the open. Although, she still felt a little embarrassed when she thought of what Daryl would think if he could hear her now._

_Daryl had no idea that Beth would be having this type of conversation about them. But the truth was, she wanted to sleep with him. She didn't want to wait anymore. Since they had started camping in the woods, they had grown even closer. He'd barely let her out of his sight. Beth knew he was concerned about her being abducted like the other women had been, but it was more than that too._

_Maggie had insisted Beth slept in her tent alongside her and Glenn. Which considering how cramped it was, was more than a little awkward. But there wasn't really an alternative it wouldn't have been appropriate for her to have squeezed in with anyone else. Beth had found herself, on more than one occasion staying up to keep watch with Daryl instead, then somehow she had found herself sleeping in Daryl's small one man battered tent instead of her sisters, sometimes with him, but mostly without, while he stayed up. Being that close to him gave her a strange sense of comfort. It was the same tent that he'd had when they had been alone together before, one of the few he had managed to scavenge from an old camping store on one of his supply runs. When they had slept in it together nothing had happened at first they had just huddled together, chatted a little. They had kissed, but despite Beth desperately wanting him to, he hadn't tried anything else. But it was different to before, she knew something had changed. It felt more real now. _

_Another long silence fell between the two sisters. _

_Beth started to panic a little, the air between them turning tense. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything, she thought, an uneasy feeling hitting her stomach as she silently willed her sister to say something further, anything. _

_Eventually after what seemed like a lifetime, Maggie looked up, "We're careful," she said a faint smile appearing on her lips._

"_Wh-what?" Beth stammered, her eyes narrowing with confusion._

"_Contraception, we just have to be careful. When we get the chance that is, which aint that often. There are actually only a few days in your cycle that you can realistically fall pregnant, so you just have to watch for those days and make sure he.."_

"_Yeah, I get it," Beth interrupted, embarrassed again. Even more glad Daryl had taken himself off hunting that morning, she would be mortified if he could hear their conversation now._

"_I mean, we use condoms if we can get a hold of em, but they're pretty hard to come by these days, guess everyone wanted to have a little fun whilst the world was ending," Maggie said with a small laugh, lightening the atmosphere as Beth broke in to an amused smile too._

"_Daryl's a good guy," Maggie than said more seriously, the laughing trailing off, as she added. "He'll look after you," and she meant it. At one time Daryl would have been the last person she would have paired her sweet and innocent younger sister with, but she knew him better now and the rules from their old world no longer applied. Now that she'd had the chance to wrap her head around it, it made perfect sense to Maggie. _

"_I mean it, Beth. He's one of the good ones. Just make sure he takes a damn bath occasionally," Maggie teased with a twinkle in her eye._

_Beth looked away shaking her head as they both erupted in to fresh laughter._

"_I got us a feast for lunch, squirrel and rabbit," a triumphant male voice suddenly said. Causing the two sisters to look up to see Daryl walking out of the trees behind them, his crossbow slung across his back, holding up an assortment of dead mammals, the proud look on his face, quickly turning to one of suspicion, "What's so funny?" he said accusingly as they continued to laugh, a sound so rare these days._

"_Nothing," Maggie replied pressing her lips together her eyes sparkling still, catching Beth's eye briefly before they both looked away sniggering._

* * *

Four years later

Beth shifted a little closer to Daryl on the sofa, her head rested on his shoulder, her arm draped around his chest. On first impressions she would never have had him down for the cuddling on the sofa type, even back when they had first started to become involved with each other he was never going to be the perfect boyfriend, but Beth liked that. Now, over the years he'd softened slightly, he was no longer the gruff redneck loner that he'd appeared to be back when he'd first appeared on her father's farm with Rick and the others at the start of the outbreak. Now he was a husband, her husband.

"So, Noah," she started lazily, about to launch in to a story, but checking she had his full attention first. He didn't even flinch just continued staring mindlessly at the flickering screen in front of them, some old movie Beth didn't have a clue about. Their TV was a little temperamental with nothing like the amount of channels that had been on offer to them at one time in their lives, but still most of the time it managed to hold out enough for them to watch a movie every now and then or a repeat of some episode of a trashy television show.

"Noah had another hold up at his bar yesterday, but they didn't take anything this time, the police actually managed to show up and stop it," she said, pausing, glancing back at her husband, putting her thumbnail up to her mouth to chew on it awaiting his reaction as a sudden wave of nausea hit her, reminding her she hadn't eaten all day, she'd been a little off her food with one thing and another.

He didn't say anything at first, but she could tell from the look in his eye he had heard her. He had one hand on a beer, the other wrapped around her back. Beth took in a breath, if there was one thing that infuriated her about Daryl still, it was his lack of conversation skills, not like the old days when he had been unsure of how to express himself. These days it was more deliberate, almost like if he didn't want to respond, he wouldn't.

"You aint goin there no more," he eventually muttered gruffly, "aint safe."

"It's fine, like I said the cops got there, they stopped any trouble from starting," she protested, tensing a little. She knew it came from a place of well meaning, but she didn't like it when Daryl tried to tell her what to do.

He didn't look up, just scoffed, "Police are all corrupt scum now," putting his beer up to his mouth to drink.

Wriggling out of his arms, Beth got up a little sulkily, noting his eyes were still glued to the television screen. Whatever the damn movie was it was obviously more alluring than having a proper conversation with her she thought, making her way out the room and in to the adjacent bathroom.

"Oh damn it," Beth screamed a little louder than she had anticipated from the bathroom. Looking down she was met with the unwelcome sight of a few small bright red spots appearing on her underwear. She had been due a period for some time now, but she'd kind of lost track of dates. Having regular periods was like a lot of things a complete novelty to her these days. Beth was pretty sure she'd only had about two cycles in the entire time of the outbreak. She had kind of figured her body had given up in that area.

"Everything okay?" Beth then heard Daryl say from the other side of the door.

"I'm fine," she mumbled back, a little embarrassed she'd made such a big deal of it as she rummaged around to try and desperately find some tampons. He might act a little indifferent at times, but Daryl was always still so quick to be protective of her. It was almost as though he half expected a dozen walkers to suddenly crash through their bathroom window again, she thought.

"You sure?" he persisted from the other side of the door.

Beth sighed and cursed, she still couldn't find any tampons, must have slipped her mind to have stocked up on them, she poked her head around the door, "Just came on my period, can't find any tampons."

"Oh," Daryl replied, this time his turn to look a little embarrassed.

"I'll need to pop to the store, pick some up," she said looking flustered.

"You aint goin no-where at this time of night," he said forcefully. They didn't live in a bad neighbourhood but it wasn't the best either. The streets were no place to be at night. There might be a new sense of order in the city now, but there were still some survivors from the dark times unable to quite shake off their new found sense of feral survival instinct. It would be a long time before they could claim to live in a completely civilised society again.

"I'll go, needed to pick up a few more beers anyway," he mumbled.

"You sure? Will you know what to get?"

"Just write it down or somethin," he responded, his tone indicating he was far from comfortable with the situation as she thrust a small slip of paper in to his hand.

"Okay," Beth replied, closing the bathroom door again to discover the bleeding had all but stopped now, shaking her head a little, she wondered what just what the hell was going on with her body, as she shouted out a quick, "Be safe," to Daryl. He was right, the streets were dangerous at night still. Beth knew he more than knew how to look after himself, but that still didn't stop her from experiencing a small flutter of anxiety every time he went out.

….

The store was pretty empty just one old guy working behind the counter. Daryl quickly made his way along the aisles of household cleaning products, diapers, hair care, before finally stopping at the feminine hygiene section, scanning it briefly before clumsily reaching out and dropping his desired purchase in to his basket. Making his way over to the till to pay, eyes down, avoiding eye contact with anyone, feeling the reassuring metal of his hand gun from where it sat inside his trouser pocket.

Reaching it to his other pocket to find a note to exchange for his shopping, nodding in acknowledgment to the grey haired shop owner. He was abruptly swept to one side as suddenly the door to the front entrance swung open and two hooded figures burst in.

"Give us all your alcohol and tobacco, Grandpa," one of them yelled, pointing a gun at the old man stood behind the counter, turning to his companion saying, "Quick empty the shelves."

Daryl didn't move, thinking fast, it was always the same these days, no-one was interested in money, it was always physical goods, looting was no longer acceptable but that didn't stop a high percentage of the population from thinking the rules didn't apply. They were few honest people left now, Daryl knew that. People were changed and out to get whatever they could.

"Oh come on, that's my livelihood you punks," the older man said, his eyes flashing fiercely. Daryl could see a fire in him, he wasn't about to be intimated easily.

"Shut it or I blow your brains out," the first guy said.

"You think that's a threat,?" he said shaking his head, a small smirk creeping on to his lips. "Go ahead. Because you take my stuff over my dead body. I haven't been to hell and back, to lose it all to some weak little jerks like you."

Daryl had never spoken to the older guy before, but he'd seen him occasionally when he'd been in the store. There was something about him he liked, respected even. He was wise, there was more to him than met the eye, he hadn't always been a frail shop owner. In a funny way he reminded Daryl a little of Hershal, Beth's late father, he had been a fighter until the end too.

"Who you calling weak?" the younger guy said, letting off a shot. Narrowly missing the old man, his reactions fast as he ducked, causing the bullet to smash in to a row of bottles behind him instead, glass flying in to the air as they exploded dramatically.

"Drop it," Daryl said loudly, pointing his gun in to the back of the younger gunman. Daryl had promised Beth he wouldn't get involved in situations like this anymore, but right now he felt he had no choice.

"Listen, we don't want no trouble, we just want the stuff," the other young guy said from where he was stood further back in the store, shakily directing his weapon in Daryl's direction to block him from shooting his friend.

Daryl glanced back at him, he was young they both were probably around sixteen or seventeen, eighteen at the most, he was willing to bet they weren't the best shot either, if he was quick he could probably take them both out, if he'd had his crossbow he could have done it within seconds. But he hesitated; as he remembered what he had been like back at their age, without the excuse of a deadly virus nearly wiping out the entire human race.

"I said drop it," he repeated instead addressing the first guy, keeping his gun aimed at the back of his head.

"You heard the man, drop it," an all too familiar male voice said.

Out of the corner of his eye, Daryl looked to his left to see two police officers had arrived, skilfully pointing their weapons in the direction of the two younger men. It was over, as the younger guys reluctantly dropped their guns down on to the floor acknowledging they were clearly outnumbered.

Daryl felt a wave of relief wash over him. Somehow no-one had lost their lives. The store hadn't been robbed. He looked back at the first police officer, the one that had spoken. He looked errily familiar, and then it hit him. He looked significantly older than when Daryl had seen him last, but the eyes gave him away he was the spit of his mother. Daryl would recognise him anywhere.

"Carl," Daryl said unable to hide the emotion in his voice. How was that even possible? Surely he was too young to be in such a position of authority.

"Daryl," Carl replied in shock.

Daryl hung around whilst Carl and his partner dealt with the situation, taking the two young criminals out to their patrol car, before he came back in to the store to speak to Daryl properly.

"It's good to see you, Daryl," Carl said embracing Daryl in a brief warm hug. Carl wasn't big on displays of affection, but it felt so good to see such a welcome familiar face.

"Good to see you too, son. It's been a while. See you've gone and got yourself a sheriffs badge for real." Daryl responded raising his eyebrows, curling his lips up in to a half smile.

"Yeah," Carl said looking down at the badge on his chest proudly, nodding, breaking in to a small smile. A lot had happened to him over the past few years, he'd changed so much, but it sure felt good to run in to an old friend as true as Daryl.

"How-how's Beth?" Carl questioned glancing down for a split second at the big neon pink box of tampons in Daryl's shopping basket on the ground.

"She's good," Daryl replied, pretending he hadn't noticed Carl's wandering gaze. "We got a place near here, you should stop by, I know she'd love to see you."

"I'd like that," Carl said nodding some more.

Looking back at him Daryl was hit with a sudden rush of pride, Carl had just been a boy when he had seen him last, he couldn't be more than late teens now, but he had become a man.

"Well, looks like your quick thinking saved the day here, no casualties and we successfully stalled a robbery." Carl said, his eyes fixed on Daryl. He wasn't surprised. Daryl's speed and bravery had saved them on many occasions back when they had been surviving together during the outbreak.

"Just doin what anyone would," Daryl mumbled. Thinking how he hadn't exactly been any great hero, just doing what was necessary to stop those kids from taking off with all the old mans stuff.

"Y'know, Daryl, this might be a long shot, but we're looking to recruit new guys. We're trying to build up the police presence in the city, weed out the bad cops, and bring in some of the good ones." Carl said.

Daryl shook his head, he knew where this was heading, "I dunno," he replied.

"Well why don't you at least have a chat with my superior. I know he'd love to see you, here's his number, think about it," Carl added, pressing a card in to Daryl's palm.

Grunting in response, Daryl glanced down at the name on the card, _Rick Grimes Chief of Police._

* * *

**A/N - Thanks for reading. Would love to hear a review if you have the chance :) Will be updating again soon. There will be more drama coming up for Beth and Daryl!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N - Thanks everyone for reading, reviewing, following and favourting. I love writing this story. I'd also like to say sorry for any confusion, the first part of the story is a flashback. The second part is set in present day where the story is set in the future after a cure has been found for the virus. **

_Hearing the zipper slowly being pulled down on the tent, Beth tensed, just for a second before she relaxed sensing a familiar presence climbing in through the flimsy entrance._

_She blinked as a dazzling light flooded the small one man tent she had been lying alone in, her eyes adjusting to the sudden boost of brightness after being in the pitch black for so long._

_Focusing a little more, she just about made out the silhouette of Daryl's long dark hair as he carefully moved in to the tent to join her. The light coming from a torch in his mouth, he set his backpack and crossbow down in the far corner before switching off the flashlight returning the tent to total darkness once again._

_Beth shifted from where she had been lying, breathing in his familiar scent as he quietly moved some of her things out the way to lie down next to her._

"_Daryl," she whispered, shuffling on to her side._

"_Why aint you sleeping?" he responded gruffly._

"_I was, you must have disturbed me," she said softy, which wasn't entirely the truth._

_The truth actually being that Beth rarely managed to sleep properly or relax fully when Daryl was out tracking. Especially this time, given he had broken the groups new rule and gone out alone. _

_He hadn't spoken to anyone, just gathered his things and marched off in to the trees out of sight. Beth hadn't seen him that angry for a long time, not since the early days after the prison had fallen, when they had lost their home and all their friends._

_He'd had a disagreement with the group, Rick mainly, but no-one had sided with Daryl, not even Beth. Rick had told everyone that he felt it was time to move on, to find somewhere more secure for the fast approaching winter. Daryl had disagreed._

_Beth had wanted to take Daryl's side, but like the others she had to be realistic, they had been searching for weeks, there had been no visible trace of where their missing friends had gone, who it was that had mysteriously taken them. The rain had washed away all the tyre tracks. No other clues had materialised, they were going around in circles. Food was running out and everyone was feeling desperate. She knew Daryl didn't want to give up, to lose anyone else, but he simply couldn't see that no-one was giving up, that they would be no use to their missing friends, unless they found somewhere more suitable to re-gain their strength._

_Beth also knew that the rest of the group had been a little concerned about Daryl earlier too, given his black mood when he had stormed off. Everyone feeling slightly uneasy now when people went missing for any time on their own. But she had known he would calm down and come back. He would never abandon them. Not now._

_A tense silence fell between them, as they lay in the cold and dark. Beth closed her eyes, but sleep wouldn't come._

_She fidgeted a little more as the tent shook slightly with a bitter wind gathering momentum outside. _

"_You want the sleeping bag?" she questioned hesitantly in the darkness, unzipping it to fling the top half off and over towards where he lay. She was freezing, but she thought he was probably more in need of it to warm up._

"_Nah," he said bluntly._

"_Daryl," Beth said, persisting. She didn't like to think he was going without because of her. _

"_Said I was fine, didn't I?" he snapped back at her, keeping his voice low. _

_Another silence fell, the wind whistling through the trees outside, rattling the warning cans and wind chimes they had put up around the perimeter to the camp to alert them to any danger._

_Daryl lay back with his hands behind his head, he could tell by Beth's breathing that she was awake still, and also from her shivering that the colder air in the nights now was most likely stopping her from sleeping._

_He sighed. _

_He wished there was something he could do to make it all better, but there wasn't. Every time they found somewhere with four walls it was taken from them. He knew his shitty tent was no substitute for the warmth of an actual home._

_He was cold too, but he was more used to being outdoors in these conditions, he knew Beth was finding it harder. _

_They had been camping for weeks now. Somehow it had just become unspoken within their group that he and Beth shared a tent. No-one seemed particularly bothered, not even Maggie surprisingly. He guessed they had all just thought that logically it made sense. __They didn't have many tents.__ Maggie and Beth were the only two females left now, so to start with Beth had shared with Maggie and Glenn, but Daryl had presumed that had gotten a little cramped. Then seeing as apart from Maggie he was the one person she was closest to, she had just naturally gravitated to him. _

_However, besides sleeping next to each other, nothing had really happened between them. They had kissed a couple of times, but now the rest of the group were so close to them, it made Daryl feel uncomfortable so he had put a stop to it. He tried to make sure as much as possible that they slept at different times. _

_He wasn't quite sure if anyone had given much thought to what was going on between them though, whether the group just presumed he had taken it upon himself to look out for the younger girl, or whether they thought there was more to it. Because if he was completely honest, Daryl himself wasn't entirely sure what he and Beth were to each other exactly. Rick had made a few vague comments he wasn't stupid, but Daryl knew they were all far more concerned about finding out who had taken the rest of the female members of their group, to care too much about what was happening between him and Beth._

_He sighed again more forcefully this time, wondering how on earth he was supposed to sleep when he had so much going on in his head. _

_Somewhere outside their tent he could make out faint voices, probably coming from one of the other tents he thought, one sounded female so would have to be Maggie, the walls of the tents were thin so sound travelled fast. Or it could possibly be someone talking to Tyreese who was on nominated watch that night Daryl thought to himself as the voices died down._

"_You speak to Rick?" Beth suddenly spoke up softly, her heart pounding awaiting his response._

_Daryl flinched but he didn't say anything, her voice so quiet he almost wondered if he'd imagined it at first._

_He hadn't spoken to anyone since his outburst earlier that day. _

_He'd spent the past few hours alone in the woods. Thinking things through and shooting whatever he could see, trying to work through the fury in his mind. He wasn't mad at Rick, or any of the rest of their smaller group even. He was a little mad at himself for firstly losing it with them the way he had, and secondly more importantly for letting people get taken on his watch again. Carol having been a simple stones throws away from him when she had been snatched with Judith right in front of his eyes by the strange men with guns. But all that aside Daryl was mainly mad at the shit world they now lived in, where no-one was ever really safe and just when you allowed yourself to breath for a moment, to finally think it was going to be ok, something smacked you hard in the teeth as a harsh reminder that that could never be the case._

_He kicked off his boots, remaining silent. Guessing Beth probably wanted to press him some more, to have some big conversation about Rick's speech, but Daryl just wasn't in the mood to talk about it. He knew deep down that Rick was right they needed to move on from their current spot, he just wasn't ready to face it yet._

_He could sense Beth's breathing quickening next to him in the silent tent, he could almost feel the vibration of her heartbeat too. The tent wasn't big; there wasn't much room between them as he shuffled around trying to get more comfortable, brushing her arm with his, so close to her he could feel the heat coming off her body._

_Still on his back he put his index finger up to his lips, his thoughts now shifting away from their group's current predicament and on to something else. He moved his hand down the length of his upper body resting it just above his belt. Feeling blood rushing around him, electricity shooting across his body, hitting him with a strong urge he always tried so hard to shut out, sexual awareness. _

_There was something different about this particular occasion though, as he slowly came to realize he no longer had the desire to fight it. _

_Sinking back on to the rolled up jacket he was using as a pillow, he moved his head in the darkness to look across to where Beth lay still in the dark. He couldn't see her but he knew she was looking at him too. Right now he simply didn't have the strength or will to deny it to himself any more, he wanted her so badly. He wasn't sure when it had started. From the first time they had kissed? Or maybe before that when he had first laid eyes on her again after the rescue mission, hitting him with how much she meant to him. Possibly even before that?_

_However, he had never actually allowed himself to let go and act on it fully. Even when they had kissed he had always held himself back immediately after. But earlier in the woods, he had felt so desperate as though all hope was slipping away, that they would forever be surrounded in darkness, an endless battle just to survive. For what? But he __realised now that hope was very much alive, hope was here, lying right next to him. _

_He slid his body closer to hers, his heart thundering in his chest, pressing himself up against her soft warm body. Inhaling her scent, he still hadn't worked out how she still managed to smell so sweet. Mixed in with the sweat and dirt he could always make out the faint smell of something fresh on her, almost like honey or vanilla._

_She didn't say anything, responding by pushing herself further in to him. Letting him know it was ok. She didn't want him to stop._

_He put his hands up to cup her face affectionately, drawing her even closer to him._

_Beth trembled, breathing in deeply, she couldn't see him but she could sense the desire in his eyes as she felt his lips move against hers. The kiss full of passion as he moved his hands down and underneath her top, exploring the smooth skin on her back before slowly and carefully, gliding them around to caress her breasts, causing a shiver to run down her spine at the sensation of his touch. _

_Slowly he reached down to undo the drawstrings to the sweat pants she liked to sleep in, lingering for a moment as Beth felt every nerve in her body tingle with anticipation._

_This hadn't been what she had been expecting as she had waited patiently for him to return from his lone trip, and she wasn't sure what exactly was fuelling this change of heart, seeing as he seemed to have been holding back from allowing anything further from happening between them, but she didn't care. After weeks of him barely touching her this had been a long time coming._

_She let out a small moan, feeling for the first time his fingers slipping inside her. Clumsily she reached up feeling around in the dark to undo the buckle to his belt._

_Stifling back the urge to cry out, quietly on top of the sleeping bag in the small cold tent, __after months of anticipation,__ they made love. Their bodies entwined together creating a heat all of their own, pleasure spreading through them at their closeness, releasing the unbearable physical tension and carnal urges that had been building between them for so long now. In that moment it was just two of them, fully connected, lost in each other. The rest of the world had stopped._

_Finally Beth felt her heart swell with happiness. _

* * *

Four years later

"Damn it," Daryl cursed muttering under his breath.

He was stood leaning in to the engine of their car, a cigarette dangling out of his mouth as he fiddled around, trying to work out why they had broken down in the middle of no-where.

Remaining silent, Beth looked up at him with her big blue eyes from where she was sat perched on the pavement next to the car, her chin in her hands waiting patiently. It wasn't the first time they had broken down. Cars just weren't that reliable anymore. Things went wrong with them all the time.

Daryl had been trying to figure out what was wrong this time for over thirty minutes. Beth had moved from being stood helplessly by his side to seating herself down on the ground, she knew there was nothing she could do and she'd also felt a little shaky needing to steady herself.

She continued to watch him intently as he concentrated. He always seemed to figure it out in the end. He was smart and he more than knew his way around an engine she thought with a small smile, remembering how many wrecked cars he had managed to get going during the outbreak. She didn't tell him as often as she should but she was still so proud of her gruff redneck husband. She thought to how far they'd come together as she looked at his muscular arms twisting and turning various different parts as he continued to curse under his breath. She wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for him. She'd never forget that.

"What?" he said moodily, glancing back in her direction suddenly to meet her wide dreamy eyes with his dark blue ones straight on.

"Nothing," Beth said, still smiling, she knew he wasn't in the best of moods and it was best to keep quiet.

"Fine," he remarked scowling, taking a drag out of his cigarette moving his head back in to the engine.

"Damn piece of shit," he said loudly slamming his tools down, moving around to give the passenger side door a hefty kick.

Beth rolled her eyes, by now she was more than used to his moods. She knew on the whole he was happy with their life, but he hated the mundane sense of routine they were forced to live by. Mostly he felt trapped and hated the work he was forced to do reconstructing buildings, in order to bring in the money they needed to live. She hoped once she started working too he wouldn't have to do that anymore, he could do something he found more fulfilling.

"Needs a new battery," he explained his voice slightly calmer, wiping his hands on a rag. "You'll need to call Maggie, because we won't be making it up there tonight now."

Beth nodded.

"There's a garage further on up by the next rest stop. It's quite a way, we'll have to walk it," Daryl said putting his jacket on and stubbing out his cigarette.

"Well, I could wait here by the car," Beth suggested, not particularly feeling in the mood for a long walk.

"Nah, aint safe," Daryl said firmly, they only had one gun between them which he'd need and he wasn't about to leave her here unarmed. He still didn't trust anyone.

…..

"Can we stop a sec?" Beth said a little out of breath, leaning up against a wall, suddenly feeling a little dizzy.

She wiped her brow with the back of her hand where a bead of sweat had formed. The road wasn't the best and she didn't exactly feel dressed for walking, the heels on her boots not being particularly forgiving for going over bumpy ground and the material in her white cotton top sticking to her as she became more flustered, a strand of her blonde hair sticking to her face with more sweat as she started to think what a state she must look.

Daryl stopped and looked back at her from where he had gone on ahead.

"You ok?" he questioned a look of slight concern crossing his face as he took a few steps back to place his hand on her shoulder.

Beth just nodded meekly, feeing a little silly. There had been a time not so long ago when she had been able to walk for days under much worse circumstances with hardly any food or drink, without so much as moaning once. Her feet having been covered in blisters and bruises in her worn out boots, with her clothes filthy and tattered and her hair wild and messy and she hadn't given a damn about what she had looked like. It was strange how quickly she had adapted back to the normality of having every day luxuries again and the comfort of cars, buses and taxi's to get around in if she needed them now too.

If she was honest though, Beth hadn't quite felt herself for a few weeks now. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she hadn't been full strength. She had thought perhaps it was all the preparation to start med school, but she'd been a little more under the weather than usual and also a tad more emotional and nostalgic than normal

"You probably just need to eat or drink something," Daryl mumbled, walking on gesturing with his head for her to follow.

"Aint much further," he said as she caught up to him.

He didn't feel much like talking as she walked along by his side, he just wanted to get the new battery and back to the car before it turned dark, Beth had other plans though.

Opening her mouth to fill the silence as they walked along the long empty stretch of road, she said, "D'you…." she broke of blushing a little, a small mischievous twinkle appearing in her wide blue eyes at the thought that had just popped in to her head. Not quite sure exactly what had made her think back to it.

"What?" he replied, glancing sideways at her, his eyes narrowing through his long dark hair.

"Ah, nothin," she said, shaking her head, looking away from him.

They walked on a little longer in silence.

"Just spit it out," he eventually said, able to tell only too well that she still wanted to say something to him.

"Oh, I was just going to say, do you remember the first time we.." Beth said again, biting her lip and smiling.

"First time we what?" he snapped back.

"You know," Beth replied, blushing some more, her dimples appearing as she smiled at him, her brilliant blue eyes meeting his straight on.

"Oh," Daryl responded able to tell from her eyes exactly what she meant.

"What d'you want to go and be talking about that for now?" He said, fighting back the urge to smile too, not allowing himself to share in the nostalgia. He was conscious time was pressing on and they hadn't reached their destination yet, getting there and back to the car safely was the most important thing right now.

…

Daryl joined Beth on the old wooden picnic bench outside the garage, handing her some packaged sandwiches and a bottle of soda he had managed to purchase from the shop attached to it, having successfully managed to get a new battery for their car.

"Best be quick," he said, taking a big bite in to his sandwich studying her as she carefully opened hers, picking at the corners to nibble a small mouthful.

"Eat up," he said, noticing she'd hardly touched hers as he tossed his empty packet in to the trash can next to them, before heading back inside the shop to use the restroom before they set off again.

Beth forced a few more mouthfuls of the slightly stale buttered brown bread in to her mouth, normally she didn't mind cheese and ham sandwiches, but there was something about this one that tasted off to her she thought, she wasn't in the slightest bit hungry either but she knew she needed the energy to walk back, seeing as she'd skipped breakfast too.

She glanced down at the ground for a second to see that Daryl had dropped his wallet when he had walked off, it had fallen down by the side of her foot. Quickly leaning down to retrieve it her eyes rested on something carved in to the underside of the bench, the words, _WE WILL NOT ROT_. It looked like it had been there for a while, probably put there during the turn. She shivered slightly, re-reading it, wondering who had put it there and why, it serving as another stark reminder that it had all been real. She hadn't imagined what had happened to the world.

Sitting back up at the bench, something else sticking out suddenly caught her eye, hitting her with a huge surge of emotion.

"Y'ready," Daryl said impatiently, appearing next to her again.

Beth gulped.

There was something she knew she needed to bring up with him and she knew it wasn't going to be easy.

"What now?" he muttered, gathering up his things noticing she was giving him another strange look. Only this time she wasn't smiling, she didn't look happy at all.

He stopped what he was doing giving her his full attention guessing it must be something more serious.

"When were you planning to tell me?" she said, her voice a little wobbly.

He didn't respond, just screwed his face up. He had no idea what she was talking about

"Rick?" She said raising her eyebrows.

Daryl felt his heart sink for a moment.

"You've seen Rick?" She repeated, "And you didn't tell me."

"I aint seen him," he said, his dark blue eyes filling with emotion, "I ran in to Carl," he said slowly, "They're back in Atlanta."

Beth's face broke in to a wide grin, "That's great," she said, flinging her arms around Daryl. For a long time she had thought they would never find out what had happened to the Grimes family.

**a/n - Thanks for reading. Please leave a review if you have time. They are most appreciated. **


	8. Chapter 8

_Daryl hung back a bit watching Beth from where he was leaning back against a tree in the small clearing they had found off the beaten track by a stream, giving her space, whilst still making sure to keep half an eye on her._

_She was leaning down in to the small stream, splashing some of the gushing cold water on to her face, her fingers a little shaky as she closed her eyes for a second._

_Daryl was pretending to be looking down focused on adjusting his crossbow, but he couldn't help but keep glancing across in her direction every now and again through the edges of his long shaggy dark hair, checking she was okay._

_They had broken off from the group briefly. Having all been on the road again for a while now looking for more clues and tracks to finding their missing friends. Beth had needed to take a moment. Daryl as always had insisted on going with her, not wanting to take any chances of her being taken from him again, especially now that apart from her and Maggie all the females in the group were gone. _

_It had now been fully accepted within their smaller group, without ever having been mentioned properly, that Beth and Daryl were together, that they were closer than just friends. That wherever Beth was Daryl would be now too. Rick and the others having witnessed from afar, Beth and Daryl's gradual progression from closely bonded friends that always looked out for each other, in to something much deeper, in to lovers. _

_It hadn't bothered Beth, but Daryl had felt slightly uncomfortable about it at first. Being a little out of his comfort zone, he had always mocked romances, never seeing the need or want for it. Until Beth. He also didn't want to appear to be taking advantage of the younger Greene girl. But no-one seemed to have the slightest problem with it, only possibly a little curiosity at first, until it had just become completely accepted. _

_Beth didn't have to worry anymore about letting her hand linger a little too long on his thigh, or about sitting a little too close to him around the fire. Daryl could comfortably allow his hand to rest protectively on her lower back as they walked, and it was just expected that he would follow her to bed each night in to his cramped and battered one men tent._

_All having far more pressing issues on their mind, their newly formed family didn't appear to bat an eyelid at Beth and Daryl's closeness. Not even Maggie. Who far from disapproving of her sister's relationship with the older man, seemed to be almost pleased about it. Fixing Daryl with a warm smile on more than one occasion when Beth's blonde head had been rested peacefully against his muscular shoulder._

_Daryl drew in a breath, looking to the dark sky, the grey clouds above threatening imminent rain. He strode over to where Beth was stood gazing out to the water still._

_He placed his hand gently on her arm._

_He couldn't deny he hadn't been a little worried about her recently, she hadn't been herself. Distant, forgetful, like she was somewhere else a lot of the time. He knew she hadn't been eating much either, she'd become pale and weak. Her stamina for walking was dropping too and she'd nearly fainted on a couple of occasions. He was no doctor, but he knew a thing or too, and he didn't want to hazard a guess what could be up with her. He couldn't think that. He just couldn't._

_Instead he knew they had to simply carry on. _

"_You done?" he said in a low voice, his dark blue eye full of concern fixed on her face._

_She didn't say anything, just nodded slowly, her hand resting on her chest steadying herself._

_He handed her his canteen, "Drink," he ordered._

_She shook her head, avoiding his gaze, "I'm not thirsty," she replied._

"_You need to drink," he repeated more forcefully, thrusting it in to her palm._

"_I said I wasn't thirsty," she snapped back._

_Daryl sighed, he was trying, but his patience was wearing thin. "Damn it girl, what's wrong with you at the moment?" he said gruffly._

_This time she turned to look at him properly, pulling her arm away from his touch, to wrap it around herself, "Nothings wrong," she muttered, forcing a smile, knowing she wasn't being fair to him. __Her eyes telling him a different story. _

_He shook his head, looking away towards the water._

"_You've not been eating, barely drinking, you're quiet, I aint a mind reader, you got to talk to me, Beth," he pleaded, his tone calmer. _

_Her big blue eyes slid over his troubled face, resting on his eyes. Before she had the chance to speak, they were interrupted by a male voice._

"_Daryl," it was Glenn and he sounded urgent. _

"_Come on," Daryl said to Beth gesturing towards the trees in the direction of Glenn's voice. _

"_Just give me a sec," Beth responded._

_He hesitated._

"_Please," she said._

"_Be quick," he said, shaking his head, "And this conversation aint over."_

…

_Back on the main road by their vehicle Glenn waved Daryl over to where the rest of the group were crouched down examining something on the ground._

"_Tyre Tracks, they look fresh, like a truck of some sorts, possibly the same one that took the women." Rick explained as Daryl shoved his way past the other members of the group, bending down, frowning as he looked down at the road._

"_Yep," he said, "They're the same, how far they go?"_

"_Not sure, we need to follow them, this is the closet we have got in months," Rick said excitedly. Looking to where Abraham had already leapt in to the driver's seat of the old truck they had managed to find and get going recently._

_Daryl stood up, wiping his hands on his trousers. He felt a hand on his shoulder, looking up to see Rick._

"_Beth okay?" Rick said quietly._

_Daryl nodded, he was aware that he hadn't been the only one to notice there had been something wrong with Beth recently._

"_She's just tired," he said quickly._

"_Well, hopefully we'll be able to stop and rest up real soon," Rick said calmly._

_Daryl just nodded again, not wanting to discuss it more as Rick moved away._

"_Come on people, lets move, we've got to get our girls back," Rick yelled._

"_Where's Beth?" Maggie asked, looking around._

"_Still by the stream, I'll go and get her," Daryl said._

"_Daryl over here," it was Glenn again, waving Daryl over to the side of the road, holding up a head scarf that looked suspiciously like it had belonged to Carol. _

_Daryl looked to the headscarf and his heart sank, his eyes then moved back in the direction of the woods leading to the little stream a short distance away where he had left Beth._

"_I'll go and get Beth," Maggie suddenly said, as if reading his mind. _

"_We gotta get going," Abraham said honking down on the horn impatiently. He was desperate to go after the tracks, to try and find out what had happened to the missing female members of their group, they all were._

"_Okay," Daryl said trying to think on the spot. He would never normally have let Beth out of his sight for so long, but right now he was needed here._

_..._

"_There has to be something more, some tracks or something, "Rick's face was grim as he Glenn and Daryl searched the area of woods by the discarded headscarf. There was no doubt in Daryl's mind it had belonged to Carol. _

"_There is no time for this," Abraham yelled from the truck._

"_Wait," Daryl said crouching down, brushing away the dirt on what appeared to be some sort of print._

"_Just give us a sec," Rick said holding up his hand. "Get everyone on the truck," he said to Glenn._

_Glenn nodded glancing around, before his face became slightly panicked and he said, "Maggie, where did Maggie go?"_

_Daryl looked up flicking his long greasy hair out of his eye," She went after Beth, she was at the stream," he said, his eyes returning to the print on the ground.._

_Glenn didn't say anything further, as he set off in the direction of the stream. _

…_.._

"_Nah, it's nothing, the headscarf must have been dropped somehow, no-ones been near here on foot recently," Daryl said jumping back up in to standing to face Rick._

"_We should go then," Rick said his lips pressed in to a firm line, looking towards the trees._

"_I'll go and get them," Daryl said, throwing his crossbow over his shoulder. A little irritated Beth seemed to be taking so long._

_Walking through the trees, his irritation was quickly replaced with a feeling of unease. Something wasn't right, he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he sensed danger._

_Picking up his pace, he started marching towards the stream before breaking in to a run. He knew he wouldn't be able to relax until Beth was safely back in his arms again. _

_Reaching the spot where they had been having their last tense conversation just moments before, he felt a deep surge of adrenaline and dread rocket through him as all he saw in front of him was a wide empty space._

"_Beth," he yelled, "Beth," panic seeping through him at an alarming rate, a bead of sweat winding down his forehead. He couldn't lose her again, not now, not like this, after everything. She was his now, in everyway, and he swore he would never let anything happen to her again._

_Suddenly out of the corner of his eye he spotted a figure walking towards him. _

_But it wasn't Beth it was Glenn!_

"_They're gone," Glenn said his face full of horror. "I've looked everywhere, but they're just gone….."_

* * *

Four Years Later

Beth flopped her chin in to her hand and sighed, glancing at the clock in the old deserted library. She clicked the refresh button on the old laptop again, waiting impatiently.

Internet connections were painfully slow these days. Sometimes they ceased to work at all. But Beth was desperate. She double checked the connection cable. It was hard to believe now in the days before the outbreak how much she had taken such a simple thing as doing a quick google search for granted.

Slowly the page loaded and her wide curious blue eyes scanned the list of symptoms appearing intensely, tapping her pen on the side on the empty note pad beside her. Her mind wandering to the last time she had felt like this, to that eventful day back at the stream just before….She shut her mind to that thought, looking back at the screen in front of her.

Reading through the dated website, it wasn't anything she didn't know already, she just wanted confirmation she wasn't going mad or dying or something. That she wasn't imagining the nagging feeling at the back of her mind.

_Swollen breasts, nausea, extreme fatigue, strange tastes and smells, mood swings, inability to concentrate, missed period…. _

Beth felt her heart sink.

A feeling of panic gathered in the pit of her stomach. Flustered, she swept a loose wisp of her blonde hair away from her face. Hearing the door creak, she sensed a presence behind her.

It was late the old library was pretty much deserted and she jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Beth."

She turned around to see the friendly face of Aaron her university professor.

"You scared the life out of me," she exclaimed breaking in to a weak smile.

"Sorry," he said smiling back her, his eyes were warm and kind, instantly putting her at ease. "Still trying to get that thing going? Oh, for the days of super technology like tablets and smart phones again," he joked, looking to where Beth was sat in front of the old fashioned laptop, one of the few that were still working from the time before the outbreak.

Aaron had been a doctor with the military before the turn. He'd been out of the country for most of the outbreak. In the short time she had been his student at med school, Beth had grown really fond of him. She could tell he was one of the rare few people left with most of their humanity intact still.

"I just came to check you were okay?" he said more seriously, his eyes glancing to the screen in front of her briefly, before looking away and back at her face fixing her with a concerned look. "You haven't been yourself in class recently and I…

"I know my grades have been slipping, I…." Beth interrupted breathlessly, a lump forming in her throat this wasn't how she had hoped things would be at all.

"It's not that," Aaron said reassuringly, "You're still my star student," he said with a playful wink. "I just want you to know, you can come to me if there ever is anything."

"Thanks," Beth said forcing another smile, wishing it could be that simple. "I'm okay, I've just had a lot on my mind."

"Well, maybe this will help," he said pulling a paper bag out of his jacket pocket handing it to her, before patting her arm again, smiling and turning to walk out.

Beth bit her lip, looking inside the bag to see a white box. Pulling it out her eyes grew wider. She had no idea where Aaron had got it from. She knew for a fact like a lot of things in the world these days, they weren't being manufactured again yet. She glanced at the expiration date to see it was okay, just. But it was definitely from before the turn.

…...

Daryl wasn't quite sure why he suddenly felt nervous as he walked in to the busy bar. Looking around for the old friend he knew no matter what he would never forget.

But it had been a long time. Daryl was aware his appearance had changed quite a bit these days. His hair was still long, but Beth insisted on him getting it tidied up every now and again. His face displayed the same scars, with a few more lines and a touch less stubble. His clothes were always clean and on the whole neatly presented. Gone was his old leather vest and shabby trousers, replaced with a more respectable pair of dark coloured jeans and dark blue shirt. He showered most days now too, and when he remembered made sure he put on the latest aftershave Beth had found for him. He was no longer a lonely miserable bachelor; he was a married man now, having a beautiful young bride to take up his time.

"Daryl," he eventually heard a familiar male voice say, taking him back to another time.

Before he knew it Rick's arms were around his neck, drawing him in to a brief but emotional hug.

"Good to see you man," Daryl said as they broke apart. Looking at Rick, Daryl noticed he hadn't changed at all. It seemed like a lifetime ago, since the days back at the prison and then later surviving on the road, but apart from his smarter more cleanly shaven appearance, he still looked the same.

"You too, nearly didn't recognise you for a while there. Life treating you well I see," Rick responded.

Daryl shrugged, reflecting for a second on how much his world had changed for the better since he had last seen Rick.

"Have a drink with me," Rick said, his pale blue eyes fixed on Daryl intensely. He indicated for Daryl to sit down at the bar next to him, gesturing with his arm for the barman, holding two fingers up.

"Thanks," Daryl said as the barman poured two shots of golden brown liquid on to the bar in front of him.

"Thought you'd never call," Rick said with a smile.

Daryl picked his glass up, meeting Rick's gaze slightly awkwardly. He wasn't quite sure why he had stalled so long after bumping in to Carl the night of the robbery at his local store. But he had. Something had held him back from taking the necessary steps towards this meeting.

"Listen man, before we go any further I just need to know something…Are we good?" Rick questioned seriously.

Daryl nodded slowly, "Yeah, we're good," he replied, as he put his glass to his lips taking a long swig, looking away. His face indicating he didn't want to go back over the events of their last few days together, years before.

"Good," Rick said with a quick nod of the head.

"So, how's Beth? You guys got any new additions to the family yet?" Rick went on to ask, arching an eyebrow with a smirk.

"Nah," Daryl replied, "It's just us…But she's good, we're good."

"That's great," Rick responded, with a genuine smile.

He paused, before saying, "We've been up in DC for a while. I got re-married up there, we were trying to make a life there for the kids. I was working for the police department. They're further ahead up there then we are here, things are moving faster."

"What brought you back to Atlanta then?" Daryl questioned.

Rick's eyes locked with his as he said firmly, "Its home."

Daryl nodded again.

"Got an offer to transfer down here, take charge of things," Rick went on to explain.

Daryl raised his eyebrows, "Must have made some pretty good friends back in DC?"

Rick looked away for a moment avoiding the question, before his eyes met Daryl's again, "I aint gonna bullshit you," he said changing the subject. "This city is falling apart; it's been run in to the ground, managed by greed and corruption. There are a lot of out of control cops out there and I'm looking to try and change things, restore some sort of order again."

He stopped talking but his eyes were still on Daryl as he added with passion, "For our future, for our children's future."

Daryl looked in front of him twisting an old beer mat in his hand.

"I want you to work as one of my deputies. There aren't many people I can trust, I mean really trust. I know you, I know who you are. You see good and bad. You always did. You're loyal and you can handle yourself out there. Because right now it's tougher than ever, but Daryl you were made for this."

Daryl moved his head, flicking his hair out of his eye to look Rick fully in the eye, his dark blue eyes deep and expressive.

"So what do you say? You in?" Rick said slowly.

Daryl kept his gaze fixed on Rick as he said seriously, "Yeah man, _I'm in_."

"That's great, really great," Rick said breaking in to a wide grin. Holding his glass up to Daryl as the two men both downed the rest of their drinks.

"I should get back," Daryl said, sliding his phone out of his back pocket looking at the time and a missed call from Beth.

"Before you go, one more drink," Rick said, quickly holding his hand up to get the barman's attention. "There are some people that want to see you," he added looking past Daryl in the direction of the door.

Daryl's face filled with confusion and curiosity looking back at Rick, sensing someone coming up behind him.

"I'd like you to meet my new second in command," Rick said.

Daryl turned his head to see two familiar striking dark eyes looking back at him and he couldn't help but smile a little as he leapt off his stool to wrap his arms around another of his long lost family members for a while he thought he'd never see again.

"Look at you. I'd wouldn't recognise you there for a moment, what happened?" Michonne said breaking in to a big smile flashing her perfect white teeth.

"He grew up and got married," Rick answered grinning some more.

Daryl was about to sit back down when Rick jumped in and said, "Thought you'd also like to meet your new partner."

Daryl looked back at Michonne to see stood beside her was Carol, meeting his surprised eyes with a small smile, looking happier and more alive than he'd seen her do in years. They'd never lost touch but he'd sensed she'd been slowly drifting away for a while now

"Some more drinks I think," Rick said as Carol slid in to the bar stool next to Daryl, their eyes meeting properly as she squeezed his hand. Looking at her face some more, Daryl could see it really was like the old Carol was back, the woman he had survived with for all that time during the outbreak. He could see her confidence was returning, that she felt she had a purpose in the world again.

Picking up his drink, Daryl felt his phone vibrate against his back pocket, he knew he should get going home to Beth soon, but there was no harm in having one final drink to mark what was ahead, he thought, the next chapter.

…..

Beth held the white stick in her trembling fingers, her big eyes wide and alert, glancing down in front of her to see clearly displayed was another bright blue cross. There was certainly nothing wrong with the pregnancy test kit Aaron had discreetly handed her earlier that evening. This was the second one in the pack and just like the first it quite visibly showed, _she was pregnant!_

She gasped as a wave of nausea hit her and she ran to the toilet bowl to wretch.

Wiping her mouth she slid down to sit on the floor, resting her back up against the bathroom wall, tightening her loose blonde ponytail. Trying to contemplate how this had happened. She had managed to get hold of the contraceptive pill from time to time, but it was hard to find and she was ashamed to admit for the last few months she hadn't bothered trying to get hold of any more and they had been more than a little lazy about birth control. The possibility of pregnancy stupidly not really entering her mind, she had been so pre-occupied with other things.

Now she had no idea how she felt. She had always known she wanted kids. She'd dreamed of being a mother and for a long time she had thought that it would be impossible. During the outbreak the thought of surviving a pregnancy and bringing a healthy baby in to the world had been unthinkable to her, she'd thought it would never be possible. That it could only ever end in heartbreak. But things were different now she thought as she tried not to think back to the _other time_, now there were hospitals again, doctors, medicine. The world was a mess still, but people were trying, there was a government again, there were public services, people had a chance again, hope.

The timing for having a baby was terrible though Beth couldn't help but think as her eyes brimmed with tears. She had just started med school. She couldn't give all that up, her dreams, her chance to make a difference.

Then there was Daryl. She had no idea what he would think, how he would react. Things had been a little strained between them recently and she never knew what mood he would be in.

They hadn't talked much about starting a family. Beth had known she would have to approach the subject with him properly at some point, but it hadn't seemed like a particular priority. But she knew despite his indifference on the topic, that Daryl liked children and she felt sure that he would like to have a child of his own. But she also knew he was terrified of it and for that reason he would be closed to the idea.

Despite all that though and despite his faults and moodiness, there was one thing Beth was completely certain about, and that one thought alone provided her with an overwhelming sense of comfort as she sat all alone in the bathroom feeling so scared and confused, she knew Daryl would make a great father.

...

**A/N - Thanks for reading, please leave a review if you can! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

_Rick looked from a panicked looking Glenn to a worried Tyrese. It was getting dark and there had been no trace of Maggie and Beth._

_He looked across to where Daryl after spending the past couple of hours searching the area frantically, was now stood motionless looking out in to the soothing babbling water from the small stream in front of him. The sound was gentle and calming and in another time could easily have been seen to be incredibly peaceful. As Rick thought how even though the whole world could come crashing down around you, nature would always just carry on._

_He looked back, his eyes meeting Tyrese's briefly exchanging a look, before he strode over to stand quietly next to Daryl. The four men had been up and down the stretch of land by the stream on foot again for the past hour. It made no sense that there were no visible signs of Maggie or Beth anywhere. But just like the other females in their group, they had suddenly just mysteriously vanished, seemingly in to thin air._

_Gently, without speaking Rick placed his hand on Daryl, his brother's, shoulder. They were all in pain, but Daryl's was raw. Beth had been unexpectedly torn away from him again. _

_Rick had seen with his own eyes how much she meant to Daryl. Rick would be lying if he said he hadn't been a little surprised at first that they were seemingly together now in that way. Not just because Beth was so much younger and had always had boyfriends around her own age, Rick knew the world had been turned upside down and none of that mattered anymore. He was more surprised, because Daryl had always been such an introvert. So guarded and mistrusting around people. He had slowly been opening up to the group, finally accepting he was a valued and needed member of their survival family after all they had been through together. But to open up to someone and let them in they way he had appeared to do with Beth, that was what had taken Rick by surprise. He had just presumed Daryl would never seek out or be receptive to any kind of romantic relationship. _

_But the way he was with Beth, it was as though despite everything and their very apparent differences, they had been made for each other. They completed each other._

_Daryl moved his head to look at Rick. Seeing his own pain clearly reflected in the light blue eyes of his leaders. They had all lost and were continuing to lose so much. Right now, Rick had lost his baby daughter, Glenn his wife, Tyrese his sister and Daryl had lost Beth. His Beth. _

_On his watch he had allowed her to be taken from him again. It had nearly killed him once before when she had been taken. But back then they had just been friends. He had cared about her, loved her even in a way, for she had been part of his group, his to protect. But now the way he had allowed himself to love her was so much more. Without even properly realizing it, she had slowly become his everything, his little something to live for._

_Daryl had known that getting close to anyone the way he had allowed himself to get close to Beth was a huge risk in the world these days. The stakes were high. The indescribable joy and comfort from the physical closeness, the feeling that you weren't alone, that you were loved. Was it really worth it? He thought miserably. Was it worth the unbearable crushing pain that seared through you when you realized that person was gone? That you may never see them again or ever find out what had happened to them, that they could be being harmed as you remained powerless to stop it. _

"_They're still out there," Rick said, breaking the thoughtful silence, his eyes still locked with Daryl's._

_Daryl nodded slowly in agreement, his eyes swollen from the crying he had been so powerless to prevent._

"_Whoever took them could have killed them right here if they'd wanted to, but they didn't. There's no sign of any kind of struggle. They wanted them alive and unharmed," Rick continued._

_Daryl felt his hands trembling slightly. He knew Rick was right. Beth was still alive, he felt certain of that and he knew wherever she was, he would find her and when he did he would never let anything happen to her again._

* * *

FOUR YEARS LATER

Hearing the front door slam noisily, Beth jumped from where she had been tossing and turning in bed for the past few hours. She glanced across to the clock beside her to see it was past 4am.

Very aware that Daryl's side of the bed was still empty, she had seen every hour since she had taken herself to bed alone earlier that night, as she had waited nervously for him to return to tell him her news.

Her stomach flipped as she heard him noisily stomping up the stairs. She wasn't sure whether to be mad or relieved that he was back. He hadn't stayed out this late for a long time and certainly never without telling her first or returning her frantic calls. She wondered what had changed.

She shifted back on to her side as he entered their bedroom.

Fumbling around in the dark, he sat down on the bed, clumsily kicking off his boots and removing his shirt as he switched on the bedside lamp, looking over at her.

She blinked, opening her big eyes to focus, pulling herself up in to sitting, her long wavy blonde hair falling over the white straps of her silky nightdress.

He didn't say anything, instead just leaned over to kiss her.

"Ughh.." Beth pushed him away in disgust, he wasn't going to get around her that easily, plus he stunk of alcohol and the smell was making her feel more than a little off colour.

"Where have you been?" She said a little accusingly as his eyes looked at her with half guilt, half annoyance at her question. He didn't think he would ever quite get used to some of the responsibilities that came with being married.

"Out, rough day, needed a few beers to take the edge off," he shrugged and said.

"And you didn't think to call?" Beth said, hurt.

Daryl rolled his eyes, "Didn't realize I had to check in," he said moodily, turning away. He knew he was being an ass, but he couldn't help himself, especially after a few beers.

Beth sighed, her heart sinking, he was drunk and she was upset, it would probably be best to have this conversation in the morning when he had sobered up, she thought.

But she was wound up and she couldn't help but say, "You don't have to check in, Daryl, but a little consideration would be nice. I had no idea where you were." Shaking her head, trying desperately to fight back tears, as she thought how she hadn't signed up to be the nagging weak wife.

"Couldn't get a phone signal," he lied, his voice softening with guilt. "I ain't perfect, alright, s'not like I make a habit of it." The truth being one drink had led to another and it had just been easier to put off the inevitable argument that it would cause for when he got home by choosing not to look at his phone.

Beth pressed her lips together. He looked uncomfortable, which made her feel a little uneasy too. "Who were you with?" She asked shakily, her big blue eyes searching his face, not wanting to have to ask that question. She felt certain Daryl would never cheat on her, but she still wanted to know what kind of people he was getting mixed up with.

A long pause followed as Daryl's eyes searched her face in return, his cheeks burning before he muttered. "Rick."

Beth's blue eyes widened with shock. Daryl had said he had run in to Carl Grimes a while back. Beth had been meaning to press him to call Rick too. But having had so much on her mind, she hadn't got round to it. Plus, if she was completely honest with herself, something had held her back. It was only a little something, but it was there none the less. A nagging doubt.

Daryl had been a bit distant since his surprise run in with Carl. Everything had been nearly perfect between her and Daryl since the end of the outbreak and she didn't want that to change. As much as she cared about Rick, whenever they had all been together trouble had seemed to follow one way or another. She wondered whether some things were best left in the past, whether they were all meant to walk different paths now.

But that aside, Beth couldn't deny that it would be incredible to see their former leader again and she suddenly felt a little hurt again, as well as slightly confused.

"Just you and Rick?" She questioned, raising her eyebrows, unable to hide her slight annoyance, he hadn't told her they had agreed to meet up.

"Michonne was there too," Daryl said.

Beth's eyes widened even more, breaking in to a surprised smile to hear Michonne was in Atlanta.

Daryl looked down at his hands, "And Carol," he mumbled.

Beth's eyes glistened with tears now, feeling even more hurt. She knew she was an emotional wreck at the moment, but she couldn't help but feel even more hurt and excluded that she had been left out of their reunion. That Daryl had left her out.

"So y'all just stayed out getting wasted and having a nice little reunion," she said sharply, her voice wobbling.

Daryl just nodded a little sheepishly, not wanting to admit that actually Michonne had left after one drink, Rick soon after to get back to his family, leaving just him and Carol sat at the bar putting the world to rights till the early hours, setting up their next chapter together as work partners. It had just been two friends catching up, but he wasn't so sure Beth would see it like that, so for that reason alone he had felt it was easier not to mention it.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Beth said, raising her voice.

"It weren't like that, it was a spur of the moment thing. You were busy at school, I didn't know when you'd be getting back and Rick wanted to see me about something, he had a proposition for me, I had no idea the others were going to be there," Daryl said quietly.

"What?... ..What did he want to see you about?" Beth questioned, biting her lower lip in anticipation.

"He wants me to work for him," Daryl said looking away.

Beth gulped, a feeling of dread hitting her. "As a cop?" she asked hesitantly.

He nodded, flicking his long hair, glancing back at her to study her face again; this wasn't exactly how he had planned to have this conversation.

Beth's eyes brimmed with the threat of more tears as she looked at him. She knew she should feel happy for Daryl, it was great that Rick thought enough of her husband to want Daryl to work alongside him now in such a position of authority. But the thought of Daryl out there on the streets night after night risking his life trying to keep order in their destructive and dangerous city, filled Beth with horror. Especially now, unbeknown to Daryl that they were going to have a baby in the not too distant future.

"You agreed?" she said slowly, already knowing the answer to the question.

Again he nodded, muttering, "Yeah."

"Without discussing it with me first," she snapped, her heart beating faster and faster. She knew she was pushing his buttons, but she couldn't help it.

Daryl screwed his face up, his eyes flashing angrily at her, "What, so I have to ask your permission now? I didn't see you asking _my_ damn permission when you decided to go off and play at being a doctor."

She shook her head she knew he was a total jerk when he was drunk. Shooting him a filthy look her eyes burning in to his she replied fiercely, "That was different, and no, you don't have to ask my permission. But I'm your wife, this doesn't just affect you."

"Who d'you think I'm doing this for?" he yelled, "I'm doing it for you. You wanna move out of this house don't ya? You want us to get a damn car that don't break down every five minutes? You want us to have a better future?"

"Don't," Beth yelled back matching his tone. "Don't try and pretend this is about our future. This is about _you, w_anting to play the hero again. Well that's bullshit."

Daryl's fists shook with rage. He knew to some extent he might be being unreasonable, but in his eyes so was she.

Neither of them spoke for a moment, before Beth said a little quieter, her voice still shaking with emotion,"The dark times are over now. You don't have to risk your life again and again to save people anymore. You don't need to do that to feel needed anymore Daryl. Because _I_ need you, _we _need you."

Daryl's heart stopped for a moment, his eyes instantly looking deeply in to her big blue ones. "Wh-what did you say?" he stammered, confused.

Beth suddenly felt a rush of nerves hit her. This wasn't how she had planned on telling him. She wiped at her cheeks with the back of her hands. She was infuriated with him at the moment, at his stubbornness and mean streak when he'd been drinking. But looking at him still melted her heart. She knew he was one of the kindest, most incredible and decent guys she had ever met. He was one in a million. There was a reason that Rick would have pursued him to work alongside him, there weren't many people willing to sacrifice themselves for others the way Daryl was and that was why despite all his shit she loved him so much.

She took a sharp breath in, looking back at his expectant face staring at her, working up the courage to say,"We're going to have a baby."

"What?" he asked again, his face full of shock as he continued to stare at her.

"I'm pregnant, I haven't seen a doctor yet, but I think I'm around four months, maybe more."

Beth immediately breathed out a sigh of relief when Daryl suddenly grinned, his face lighting up. Flinging his arms around her neck, crushing her a little, he held her close to his muscular chest, the tension from their previous conversation fading away as she heard his heart beating against her ear.

"This is great," he whispered, lost in the immediate moment.

"You want this?" Beth asked overloaded with pregnancy hormones and the emotion from the previous day's events and their fight.

Daryl nodded in to her soft blonde hair a tear running down his scarred face. Up until this moment he hadn't realized just how much he had wanted this. He was terrified, they both were, but he would make it work

Reaching down he lifted her chin gently away from his chest with his finger so he could look at her tear stained face. A warm glow spreading across her as his eyes told her how happy he was, before he leaned in to plant a soft kiss affectionately on her cheek.…They were going to be okay.

**A/N - Thanks for reading! Please leave a review they are much appreciated.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N - Thanks so much for the reviews and followers :) Just to clear up a few things and recap, the story is set a few years in to the future when the zombie virus is over. Beth and Daryl are now married and living in Atlanta. It will also follow what happened to some of the characters too.**

**\- The flashbacks are in italics and are telling Beth and Daryl's (and some of the rest of the groups) story leading up to present day. So far, Beth survived the hospital switch (yay), the group were then surviving on the road when all the females apart from Beth and Maggie were taken mysteriously. Meanwhile Beth and Daryl had finally started a romantic relationship together, then Beth and Maggie were mysteriously taken too, leaving Daryl devastated. This chapter picks up with what (unbeknown to Daryl ) was happening to Beth and Maggie next, ...I know there are a lot of questions, but all will be revealed I promise. Keep reading ;)**

**Also I know Daryl was a bit of a jerk last chapter at the end, and that will be addressed in coming chapters. As much as I love Daryl I think it would be unrealistic to have him be too perfect as a husband in fanfiction, I hope you'll agree. Also, yes, Aaron is the same character that's on the show now, but as this is an AU version of the show, here he is a doctor and Beth's teacher. Please leave a review if you can with any other thoughts, comments, questions! :)**

_Maggie gave Beth's hand a reassuring squeeze. "It's going to be okay, Bethy, we're going to be okay, we'll find a way out of this," she said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible._

_Beth just nodded, shivering from where she was sat next to Maggie in the back of the large truck._

_She couldn't believe they could have been so stupid. After Maggie had found her, by the stream where Daryl had left her. They had been on their way back to the road to find the others. When a group of men in military uniforms had approached them, they hadn't seemed at all threatening they had simply asked Beth and Maggie if they were lost, if they needed help. Their accents had been foreign which had thrown them a little, Beth wasn't quite sure but she guessed British or maybe Australian. _

_At the sight of them both herself and Maggie had immediately raised their guns ready to protect themselves, but the men had said they weren't intending to harm them; they were just there to help them. _

_They had insisted they walked them back to the road, so they could speak to their leader, they had been friendly, charming even, despite their army uniforms and large guns. They had said they would explain everything soon. Somehow, they had managed to persuade the two women to lower their weapons and go with them of their own accord. _

_The next thing the Greene girls had known, far from being reunited with their men, they were being led to another truck, similar to the one they had seen Carol bustled on to months before. Despite their screams and protests, they had been thrown in to the back of it, before it had sped away. They hadn't stood a chance._

_Beth looked to her sister from where they were still sat in the back of the large truck, frightened and disorientated as the large vehicle raced on, further and further away from the spot they had left Daryl, Glenn, Rick and the rest of their smaller group. _

_Beth knew she had to be brave. She was tough now and she had been through worse, at least this time she had her sister by her side, they needed to be strong. _

_But somehow, something else took over Beth this time a feeling she had no control over, a feeling of complete and utter helplessness, different to anything she had experienced before. It both shocked and panicked her at the same time. She'd never felt so afraid, even back at the prison when the governor had rolled up with a tank, or in the hospital when she'd had a gun pointed at her face, she hadn't she felt as terrified as she did at this moment in time._

_This time, something was different, this time she knew she had more to lose._

_She clutched her stomach, feeling as though she wanted to wretch. She felt sick and dizzy. The ground was bumpy and the truck was going fast. She could hear the men talking faintly in the front. She wanted to yell out, but her voice felt hoarse. Instead she gripped her sister's hand even more tightly, shaking slightly now. _

_Maggie was right, Beth thought, it was going to be okay, because it had to be. They had no idea where they were being taken, but they'd find a way to escape somehow, back to the others._

_Suddenly Beth felt as though everything was spinning at a hundred miles an hour, her vision quickly becoming blurry. She cried out in pain, her palms sweaty as a sharp stabbing pain hit her abdomen and for a moment everything went black._

"_Beth, Beth..are you okay?" She woke to hear Maggie's panic stricken voice saying next to her._

_Beth opened her mouth to speak, but instead of words all that would come out were more sharp cries of agony. She felt as though someone had taken a knife to her insides. _

_Drifting in and out of conciseness her eyes half closed, more and more sharp cramps hit her._

_"Daryl, where is Daryl? I want Daryl," Beth moaned, as Maggie looked on at her sister in horror, helpless to do anything._

_Before Beth's eyes jolted fully open again. _

_She looked across to where Maggie was sat next to her in the fast moving vehicle, to see her sister's mouth flying open in shock. "You're bleeding," Maggie exclaimed. _

_Beth reached down between her legs to feel a gush of liquid, bringing her hand up to her face to see it was stained bright red… _

* * *

FOUR YEARS LATER

"Here," Daryl said, passing Carol a coffee as he slid in to the driver's seat of their patrol car beside her.

"Thanks," she said with a smirk.

"What?" He said scowling, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Oh nothing," she replied with an amused smile.

His eyes narrowed as he looked at her some more.

"Suits you," she said again a twinkle appearing in her eye.

Reluctantly breaking in to a small smile as well, Daryl glanced in to the rear view mirror. "Beth's been on at me to get it cut for ages," he muttered, sighing, looking at the reflection of his newly cut shorter hair and cleanly shaven appearance, he knew it was part of his new role now to look smarter and surprisingly he quite liked it.

"Well, didn't realise you cleaned up so well," Carol teased some more, still smiling. Before letting out a reflective sigh, thinking back to the many times when they'd been surviving on the road together during the outbreak and he'd flat out refused to clean himself up, despite there being access to fresh water. How times had changed.

"You've still got it Dixon," she said with a little chuckle leaning over to nudge him with her elbow. She had to admit she was impressed at how seriously he was taking his new role. He was unrecognisable now with his new clean cut image and police officers uniform. She couldn't help but feel proud, the way things had worked out.

Daryl shook his head slightly embarrassed, taking another sip of his coffee, looking away and out the window on to the quiet trouble free street. The only people in sight were a dog walker, a teen on a bike and a mother with a child in a pushchair. He put his hand up to the radio attached to his shirt pocket. He still couldn't quite get his head around the fact he was a cop. At one point in his life that would have been totally out of the question.

He glanced at the clock on the dash board.

"Mind if I shoot off a little early," he said casually.

"Oh I see, trying to sweeten me with me coffee eh, so you could skulk off early?" Carol replied playfully.

Daryl shrugged, feeling a little uneasy.

"I'm kidding. Of course, everything okay?" Carol asked, her eyes turning more serious, examining his flustered face.

"Yeah, just something I gotta do," he mumbled awkwardly, avoiding eye contact.

She arched her brow, her eyes burning with curiosity as she looked at him intensely.

Daryl swallowed and shifted in his seat. He wasn't quite sure what it was about Carol that still had the ability to make him feel like a naughty teenager sometimes. But she always seemed to find a way to get him to open up to her eventually.

"Okay, when you see Beth you gotta act like you don't know okay, cause we're not meant to be telling anyone yet. But she's pregnant. We got a scan to go to at the hospital," he said, feeling a little emotional again, telling someone and saying it out loud suddenly made it all very real.

"That's wonderful, congratulations," Carol immediately said, her face turning in to a wide excited grin, leaning over to throw her arms around him in a friendly embrace.

It hadn't been exactly what she had expected him to say, it would be a little weird to see Daryl as father, but she was thrilled none the less. Carol had to admit she had wondered whether Beth had been pregnant back when they had got married and then on a couple of occasions since she'd had her suspicions, but seeing as that had never seemed to be the case, Carol had just presumed having kids wasn't on the cards for them at the moment.

"Thanks," Daryl said, breaking in to a relieved smile.

"Daddy," she added with a playful nudge.

Daryl froze at the sound of that name.

Suddenly it hit him; he was going to be someone's _daddy_, a father. And a slightly uneasy feeling hit him. He'd been drunk when Beth had first told him the news and overwhelmed with the rush of initial happiness and excitement it had stirred in him. But now that he'd had the chance to think it through, reality was kicking in.

He'd always liked kids, he'd loved little Judith Grimes as his own back in the early days of the outbreak when she'd first been born, but she wasn't his and had ultimately never been his responsibility. Having a baby of his own; having to raise it, love it, teach it the difference between right and wrong, that was suddenly a very scary prospect to Daryl. He had always presumed coming from his family, he would make a lousy parent just like his own had been, and for that reason alone he had vowed never to have kids. But like a lot of things, that had all changed when he had fallen in love with Beth, the idea of it somehow then not seeming quite so ridiculous.

"Go on go," Carol said, noticing the thoughtfulness on Daryl's face, gesturing with her head for him to get out of the car.

"You sure?" He asked hesitantly, suddenly a rush of nerves shooting around him.

"Yes, it's not like there is much going on around here," Carol replied, as they both glanced out in to the now empty midday street where they were parked up in downtown Atlanta.

Daryl undid his seatbelt, just as a crackly voice came through on the radio.

"Dixon you copy? Urgent backup needed on Harrison Avenue," It was Michonne.

Daryl looked to Carol.

"It's five minutes away, I got it," Carol said firmly.

Daryl shook his head.

"Go, be with Beth, she needs you right now, we can handle it," Carol insisted.

"Urgent back up needed, we're at 15 Harrison Avenue, I said do you copy?" Michonne's voice came through again.

Daryl grabbed the radio, "Yeah, we copy, on our way." Doing up his seatbelt, he started the engine, blue lights flashing as the patrol car screeched away.

…

Approaching the building on foot, Daryl and Carol were met by Rick and Michonne stood outside a rundown looking apartment building. The four of them all kitted out in their police uniforms and bullet proof vests, holding their weapons ready for action.

"Neighbour called, there has been some serious shit going on in one of the apartments, if it's what I think it is we need to go in and we need to be prepared," Rick explained, several screams coming from inside the building as he spoke, as well as some all too eerily familiar snarling and growling sounds.

"Is that?" Carol said her jaw dropping open.

"Only one way to find out," Rick said banging on the front door. "Police open up….I said Police open up."

Rick looked back to his three deputies, gesturing for them to get ready as he fired at the door handle, causing the front door to the apartment block to fly back slamming against the far wall.

"Sweet Jesus, never thought I'd see that again," Michonne said as they all looked on in disbelief as a group of around six groaning rotting corpses ambled across the hallway towards them.

Screams from terrified residents ringing out still.

"Stay inside your homes," Rick yelled out as several frightened faces peered out from around their doors.

"He's been keeping them locked up," one woman resident said, her face full of panic and disorientation as she retreated back in to her apartment.

"Take them out," Rick ordered, firing the first shot, the others following.

Daryl not needing to be asked twice as he aimed expertly at the skulls of the two nearest to him, the memory of how to kill them flooding straight back to him, watching as they instantly fell to the ground as he penetrated their brains with bullets this time instead of arrows.

He rushed over to examine the pile of rotting bodies on the ground, "Clothes are decaying, flesh nearly all gone too, these are old," he said, crouching down, nearly gagging at their rotten stench. It was strange how quickly he had forgotten how bad the smell of the undead had really been.

"Do you think... it's starting again?" Michonne said, a little shaken, looking around the group, her eyes resting on Rick.

"Nah, someone must have been keeping them here from before," Rick said loudly.

Reports of seeing walkers were rare these days and getting rarer. The majority having been destroyed now, years after the declared end to the outbreak, no-one had turned in a very long time.

"We need to check there aren't anymore?" Rick said. "We'll take this way; you two go through there," gesturing for Daryl and Carol to go through an opened door to their right as he and Michonee walked ahead.

Nudging the door open cautiously, the first thing Daryl saw was the body of a man lying slumped across the floor, blood pouring from a wound to his side.

"He's been bit," Carol exclaimed, bending down to feel his pulse.

"He's dead," she said with relief. "Looks like he's been here for days too."

Daryl nodded slowly, happy that it seemed Rick was right it wasn't happening again, the dead really did stay dead now. The walkers in the hall must have just been the result of this crazy guy, unable to let go of the past. Not realizing they would ultimately be the death of him.

"Stay here, I'll look through there," Daryl said, raising his gun to creep down the hallway and in to what he presumed to be a back bedroom.

Taking one final look around the cluttered bedroom, Daryl was about to walk out, satisfied there was no-one there, when he jumped feeling the sensation of long twisted fingers grabbing him from behind wrapping around his neck. The overpowering waft of rotten rancid odour filling his nostrils, together with the blood curdling hissing sound, confirmed it could only be another decaying walking corpse.

He stumbled backwards, trying with all his strength to keep it away from him as he sensed its jaws snapping in an attempt to get closer and bite him. But luckily it was weak, as he realized it must be old by the undead's standards, giving him the edge.

He tried to manoeuvre his arm to get the right angle to get a good shot at its head, but it was impossible as it's fingers gripped hold of his neck even more tightly, causing him to lose his balance and drop his weapon completely.

Reaching down, he felt something cold and sharp in his trouser pocket, it was Beth's old knife. He'd got in to the habit of carrying it everywhere with him after she had been taken by the stream that time years before. It had been his way of staying connected to her. Even now, he never told her, but he still always kept it on his person.

Curling his palm around it he lunged back and upwards with all his might, slicing it straight through the eye socket, causing the beast to instantly release its hold on him dropping to the floor in a heap.

Catching his breath, he turned around to see it had been a woman, long red hair falling in matted clumps around her sunken, rotting face. And he thought how for a long time he had become de-sensitized to that sight, seeing them had been second nature during the outbreak. But now in their newer more civilised society again, seeing the body of what once would have been a living person in that disgusting state, moved him, reminding him of the utter hell the world had been not so long ago.

About to go and find the others, he froze again, hearing a rustling sound, followed by a whimper coming from the closet to the side of the bed. He opened the door slowly, to see two startled green eyes peering back at him.

"Hey," he whispered, realizing it was a child and she looked scared to death.

She didn't say anything, edging backwards and away from him.

"It's okay, you can come out," he said softly. "I ain't gonna hurt ya, little girl."

She still didn't say anything, her eyes blinking back at him.

He carefully put his hand out to try and touch her, causing her to jump backwards some more, pressing her small body against the back inside wall of the closet. Without moving he caught her eye, breaking in to a small reassuring smile. He could tell winning her trust wasn't going to be easy as she scowled back at him.

He recognised the look on her small face well, fear masked by fury. She was petrified of him, but her instincts were telling her not to show it.

"You're scared aren't you sweetheart," he said gently. "That's okay, I aint going anywhere, when you're ready you can come out and we can go and find your Mama," he said kneeling down, offering her his arm. "Here, you wanna take my hand? I won't hurt ya I promise."

Relaxing ever so slightly, taking his time, he eventually felt small icy fingers reaching out and slowly he held her tiny hand in his, before he reached down to carefully lift the frightened child out of the cramped closet and up in to his strong arms.

Looking at her small shivering body he realized she was smaller than he had thought at first, she couldn't have been older than four years old, five at the most. She must have been born during the outbreak he realized as he held her tightly to him.

"There you go sweetheart, I got you, you're safe now, I aint gonna let nothing happen to ya," he said in a soothing voice, feeling her tense body relax in to his as she clung to him.

"Now can you tell me where your Mama is?" he said, stroking her soft red hair around her face.

Still the child didn't speak, instead she just simply pointed down at the floor to where clumps of bright red hair were sticking out of the bloodied remains of the walker Daryl had put down moments before, and his heart sank, realizing, _the world was still a cruel and twisted place._

…

Glancing at the clock again Beth hugged her knees a little tighter to her chest, from where she was sat on the narrow hospital bed.

"He'd said he'd be here," she said again.

"It's okay, we can wait a little longer," Aaron responded, from where he was stood leaning back against the ultrasound machine.

Beth sighed, smoothing a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. Frustrated and a little embarrassed that Daryl was taking so long. She felt like a fool.

She'd had a suspicion he would do this. She had reminded him plenty of times about this appointment, but his mind had always seemed to be elsewhere. It had been the same ever since he had started his new job, policing the city with Rick and the others.

Her eyes fell to her cell phone clutched in her hand. There was little point trying him again, his phone had been off and as soon as he switched it back on again he would be bombarded with her messages anyway.

"He must have been held up or something," she said quietly, her cheeks burning.

She knew Aaron was doing her a big favour performing her first ultrasound. When he wasn't teaching at the university he was busy working as a doctor at their local hospital, and seeing as appointments for non-emergencies were so hard to obtain these days, he had agreed to perform an ultrasound for her straight away.

"It's okay, we can wait a little longer," Aaron said with a smile.

Aaron had been surprisingly understanding when Beth had told him her news. He had said she could carry on studying until the baby was born, then whenever she felt ready she could pick it up again. It wasn't like before, when places at universities were highly sought after, when if you couldn't make the grade you were out. Nothing was quite like it had been before the world had gone dead, and this was one example of that where Beth was thankful the strict rules and regulations of the old world that she had lived in for the first sixteen years of her life no longer applied.

"Something must have come up," Beth added, forcing a weak smile back at her teacher, her lower lip trembling. Hating to have to make excuses.

She wondered whether something really had come up, or whether Daryl had simply forgotten, or worse still if he just didn't want to be here. She'd told herself she'd be okay if Daryl wasn't here, but the truth was she wanted them to share this moment together, the moment they saw their baby for the first time.

She twisted her hands together fighting back the urge to cry, chewing her lower lip, looking over to Aaron, hardly able to stand the look of sympathy and pity in his eyes, she said hesitantly," I guess we better…"

He nodded picking up the container of jelly to shake ready.

Beth reluctantly lay back, pulling up her sweater, exposing her rounded abdomen. Jumping suddenly when doors to the room unexpectedly flung open, a flustered looking Daryl rushing through them.

A small smile crept on to Aaron's lips as he raised an eyebrow and said, "Ever heard of knocking Mr Dixon?"

Beth looked from Aaron's slightly amused face to Daryl's awkward one. She knew her redneck husband even in his uniform, wouldn't exactly have been what Aaron would have expected. He was a lot older than she was and he wasn't the best in social situations either. But Beth knew Aaron wasn't one to judge. He had once said to her anyone that had the strength of character to survive the apocalypse was alright by him.

"Sorry, and sorry I'm late," Daryl mumbled awkwardly, looking to Beth meeting her anxious blue eyes with an apologetic smile. His own eyes full of concern to see her looking so worried, he knew this was a big deal to her, to both of them. It wasn't ideal he had been so held up. Beth still wasn't exactly thrilled at his new position at the risks involved, and this would only fuel that.

"Well you're here now, no harm done and just in time too," Aaron continued warmly.

"This should feel a little cold," he said, turning to Beth smearing the jelly on to her stomach. Switching on the ultrasound machine, he reached for the wand holding it gently to her bump.

Daryl sat down on the seat beside her, reaching for her hand giving it a reassuring squeeze. Beth instantly relaxed, feeling a brief rush of relief and happiness, as her lips curled up in to a smile, before she was suddenly hit with a wave of nerves again.

The room fell deadly silent as Aaron concentrated. Moving the wand over Beth's stomach.

Daryl tensed, rubbing the side of his jaw; he could sense how nervous Beth was as he squeezed her hand again. Beth just frowned as she concentrated on the screen in front of her. The pregnancy hadn't exactly been planned. But she had slowly gotten used to the idea and if anything went wrong now she knew it would be devastating. Even more devastating than the time before, the time she could scarcely bare to think about. A memory she had kept deeply buried away.

"There you go, one healthy baby," Aaron suddenly said his face relaxing in to smile as a grainy image appeared on the screen, and the sound of a tiny little heartbeat thundering away like galloping hooves filled the room.

A huge grin spread across Beth's face her eyes filling with tears of happiness. There was a time when she had thought this moment would never happen. Looking across to Daryl she saw his eyes were flooded with emotion too at the first sight of the baby that had come crashing in to their lives so unexpectedly. It was real.

"Everything looks perfect," Aaron said moving the wand around as he pointed out the various different parts to an overwhelmed Beth and Daryl.

"Can you tell the sex?" Daryl asked.

"Sure from what I can see you have a…" Aaron started.

"I-I'd rather not know," Beth spoke up, looking to Daryl who just nodded.

"Don't matter it's a boy anyway, "he said with a cocky smile.

Beth laughed giving him a friendly tap, "Babies can be girls too y'know," she replied, looking to Aaron.

"I'm staying out of this," he said raising his hands, arching his eyebrows in amusement.

"Here," he said tearing off the printed images from the machine, handing them to Daryl,"Your baby."

"Thanks," Daryl replied, nodding gratefully at the other man. A rush of emotion hitting him once again as he looked down at the pictures of his unborn child. He never thought he'd see the day, but he'd created a life, there was no going back now, he was going to be a father.

**A/N - Thanks for reading. I also have a favour to ask this time, I'm having a hard time trying to figure out whether they should have a boy/girl? Hence they didn't find out here, lol! So I'd thought I'd put it to a vote from you guys to see what you think they should eventually have ;)**


	11. Chapter 11

_Beth blinked and slowly opened her big blue eyes. _

_She tried to focus, but her vision was hazy, only just being able to make out the room she had woken in was plain and white, with the added scent of disinfectant, as well as the faint beeping of a monitor beside her. She tried to move, pulling herself up to sitting to discover she was wired up to an IV drip. She wriggled around in the strange narrow bed to discover that the sheets felt stiff and starchy, she glanced down to she was dressed in a hospital gown._

_She screamed._

_She wondered if she was still sleeping, if she had woken in a nightmare again and she was back at Grady. But as her vision quickly became clearer she could tell it wasn't Grady. The décor was more modern, and there was a low hum of busy voices outside her door, almost like a hospital from before the turn. She turned her head to see that to the the side of the bed there was a small table with a single box of tissues placed at the centre. On the wall a clock ticked. Displaying the time, it was 10 past 12 in the afternoon._

"_You're awake, how are you feeling? You had us worried there for a bit," An unfamiliar female voice said, as a woman looking to be in her mid to late 40's came bustling in to the room. __Her accent was foreign. Beth was pretty sure she was British. _

"_Where am I?" Beth snapped, her eyes wide with fear and confusion._

"_I'll get the doctor," the woman said, smiling at Beth. She was dressed in khaki green trousers and a dark coloured blouse._

"_No, wait," Beth yelled watching her disappear out of the room._

_Within seconds, the woman had returned with a younger man, he too was dressed in similar style clothes and had an accent, "Diana tells me you're awake. I'm Dr Willis. How are you feeling, Miss..um Green?" He said, picking up a chart from the foot of the bed and scanning it._

"_Ho-how d'ya know my name?" Beth said hesitantly, starting to feel even more uneasy._

"_Your sister told us, my dear," the woman Beth presumed was Diana, said gently, perching down on the side of the bed by Beth, reaching out to touch her._

_Beth jumped back like a frightened animal._

"_Maggie? Where is she?" Beth exclaimed._

"_Relax, she's right here, when we've finished talking you can see her," the woman said. Her voice had a sort of softness to it that Beth found reassuring. Although her head was telling her to be on alert, she trusted no-one._

"_What was the last thing you remember?" The doctor said. _

"_I…err…don't know," Beth said truthfully, her mind flashing to a mass of muddled images, none of which made much sense to her, or that she would be willing to share with the two strangers in front of her._

_The bursts of memories were hitting her hard; of being back at her family home on the farm, to shivering by the road on a dark night with her father and sister, to being back at the prison site, to Rick, and Maggie and Glenn, and baby Judith crying in her arms. To then sitting opposite a campfire staring at Daryl, to suddenly being surrounded by walkers, to waking at Grady, to then being back in Daryl's strong arms again, to kissing him, holding him, laughing with him. But none of it made any sense to her. Where was Daryl now? Where were Rick and the others? Why was Maggie here? _

"_Can you tell me what year it is?" The doctor said calmly. Beth wanted to hate him, to be fearful of him, but despite the grave seriousness of his face, his eyes were kind. He wasn't bad, Beth could tell._

_Beth shook her head, her long messy blonde hair swaying from side to side._

"_Can you tell me what wildfire is?" He said._

_Again Beth shook her head in confusion and panic, should she know that? She thought helplessly._

_The doctor looked away from Beth for a moment over to the woman as they shared a surprised look. _

"_How long have you been out there?" The woman spoke this time, placing her hand on Beth's. Beth wanted to pull away again, but she found the strangers touch weirdly comforting. _

_Looking away from her, she muttered, "I dunno." _

_Beth honestly had no idea exactly how much time had passed. She remembered the start of the infection, to hearing it on the news, before the shock of seeing the first person stumbling around snarling and growling dead behind the eyes. She remembered the fear and anxiety, the crushing pain of the losses, losing the farm, and then having to survive under the worst conditions. But how long, that she couldn't remember._

_Her eyes prickled with tears._

"_It's okay, you're safe now, it's over, nothing more is going to happen to you," the woman said gently, breaking in to another kind smile._

"_I don't understand," Beth said quietly._

"_You will," the woman said still smiling._

Clutching the chart tightly in his hands still, the doctor spoke up again,"_Okay, Miss Greene, well your general health is very good considering. You're a little malnourished and dehydrated and your blood shows your iron levels are pretty low, but apart from that you've managed to keep yourself fairly fit and healthy. There is just one thing I need to ask though, and I need you to answer as accurately as you can?" He said, his eyes down looking at the chart. "When was the first day of your last period?"_

"_Wh-what? Why do you need to know that?" Beth stammered, her face flooding with confusion again. "I have no idea." Her periods had always been a little sporadic she thought, she could go months without bleeding and she didn't have the faintest idea when she'd last had one with everything else that had been going on. _

"_Try and think, take your time." The woman said._

"_I really don't know," Beth said, overwhelmed. "What's going on? Why am I here? What's happening?" She said, raising her voice with panic once again, moving suddenly across the bed, feeling a dull ache in her abdomen. _

"_You had a miscarriage Miss Greene, you collapsed on your way here, you lost a lot of blood, but you're going to be fine," the doctor said. _

_Beth gulped; her eyes wide with shock. _

_Then it all came flooding back to her, every last detail. She'd been with Maggie. They'd been taken against their will by some mysterious men, they were being driven somewhere. She'd been faint and dizzy, and then there had been the blood. Confirming what she had been too scared to admit but deep down had known for a while, she'd felt it at the very core of her. She'd been pregnant! Responsible through this hell, for carrying a growing new life inside her. _

_She had messed up, big time. There had been more than one occasion when she and Daryl had got too carried away with the moment. At the time she had stupidly pushed away any thoughts that it could lead to a pregnancy. She had just presumed that it wouldn't happen, that it wouldn't be possible, that her body would prevent it given the environment. Well it had prevented it alright, in the cruellest way possible._

_She thought to Daryl, to what he would have said had he known. She feared he would have been angry; he would have blamed himself, withdrawn from her again and pushed her away. But if anyone had been responsible Beth felt certain it was herself, stupid naive girl that she was. Maggie had warned her and she had disregarded it. She only had herself to blame._

_She felt sick._

"_I'm sorry," the woman said, still with the same soft comforting tone, her eyes displaying genuine empathy._

_Beth waved her hand, indicating it wasn't the big deal they were making it out to be, she had been through worse she thought, she'd get through this. But despite her best efforts she was unable to stop the big fat tears from rolling down her delicate pink cheeks._

_Slowly and carefully the woman moved towards her, wrapping her arms around Beth's neck allowing the younger girl to sob quietly in to her shoulder._

"_We can get your sister for you," the woman said looking up and over to the doctor._

"_No," Beth said moving away, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands. "Not yet." She said, embarrassed and disappointed with herself for crying the way she had, for showing emotion and weakness in front of these strangers. She could almost hear her fathers voice in her ear, they all had their jobs to do, and hers was to stay strong, now more than ever, no matter what was thrown at her, she'd deal with it._

_Beth knew what she needed to do, she needed to compose herself, re-focus, and never mention this again, to anyone._

* * *

FOUR YEARS LATER

"You want to stop for food?" Daryl said, stopping at a red light, looking across to where Beth was sat next to him in the car.

She shook her head, her eyes down staring at the scan pictures of their unborn child clutched tightly in her hand still. "I aint hungry," she muttered.

He sighed, his eyes still fixed on her, trying to work her out. She'd been the same ever since they had left the hospital, quiet, distant, thoughtful. He knew that she was pissed at him over something. He just wasn't a damn mind reader and he was running out of patience.

If he was honest it had been the same on and off for days. Her mood swings recently had been driving him slightly crazy. He wondered if she was still annoyed with him for coming home late drunk the other night. Or whether this time it was more to do with him turning up late at the hospital for their appointment. However if he was being completely honest with himself Daryl feared it was more to do with the new role he had taken on, policing their out of control city, alongside Rick, Michonne and Carol.

The long hours he had been away from her working, along with the nature of what he was doing, the risks involved, he knew she didn't like it. The fact he hadn't managed to arrive on time for their scan earlier, together with the blood stains on his shirt could only have fuelled that too.

He looked away, shaking his head, the lights turning green.

"Damn it woman, what's wrong with you?" He said, raising his voice in frustration, putting his foot down.

Beth looked up and over at him startled.

"I'm just not hungry, that's all," she said, folding her arms looking away from him and out the window at the depressing run down early evening city landscape.

"Well you gotta eat, this aint just about you," he said angrily. His eyes staring straight ahead.

…...

Beth took a small sip through the straw of her drink, looking over to where Daryl was sat opposite her shovelling fries in to his mouth like he hadn't eaten in weeks.

She tore at the corner of her burger, nibbling at it. She knew getting fast food from a drive through burger chain hadn't exactly been ideal, but they had both been tired, it had been a long day. She wasn't hungry, but she knew she needed to keep her energy up. He might have been a jerk about it, but Daryl was right, she needed to eat.

They ate in silence from where they were seated opposite each other in their small kitchen. Beth pushing away her half eaten burger and fries when she was done, glancing across to where Daryl was now sat head down fiddling with his phone, she thought how he hadn't shown the slightest interest in having a cell phone until he had met up with Rick and the others again, now he seemed to be constantly checking it, scrolling through his messages.

She pulled the scan pictures out of her pocket again, her eyes floating across the black and white image of the seemingly healthy unborn child they'd created, developing insider her. She didn't think she'd ever cease to find the wonder in it, staring at the pictures in wide eyed amazement.

"I guess we can start telling people now," she said, a small smile creeping on to her lips.

Daryl stopped what he was doing to look at her, not knowing quite what to say he just shrugged. He knew telling people their news was always going to be a big deal to Beth, but to him not so much. Until recently the only two people in the world that he had cared anything about and considered his family were her and Carol. And Carol already knew he thought guiltily.

He was pretty sure Beth wouldn't mind so much that he had told Carol without her, as much as they were fond of each other, the two women had never been close, especially since he and Beth had got married. It was more that Daryl knew Beth hadn't wanted to announce their news to anyone until they had received confirmation the risky first trimester was over and everything was okay with the baby. She had seemed so nervous and superstitious over it that he felt truly bad for not having respected her wishes.

"We could organise a party to tell everyone," she went on to say, her eyes lighting up. "We could invite Rick and the family, Michonne…Carol." She added, looking at him to note his body language changed subtly at the mention of the older woman's name.

He scowled.

"You could act a little more excited," Beth said, rolling her eyes.

He remained silent, shrugging again, as she glared at him provoking a response.

"You think I'm not excited? Just because I've got better things to be doing than having some stupid damn party," he said gruffly.

He knew he'd fucked up when he saw her shooting daggers at him. Rather than try and make it better though, he stood up and abruptly turned to open the fridge door noisily. Avoiding have to face the hurt that he knew would be creeping in to her eyes. Hurt that being the jackass he was, he'd caused.

They may have been married for a while now, but Daryl still had next to no idea how to go about tackling moments like this. The opposite sex had always been something of a mystery to him. Since being with Beth he'd been learning, but he knew he was never going to be perfect.

"Fine, but you don't have to be a dick about it," Beth said, her voice wobbling, fighting back tears, glaring at his back some more as she stood up too.

This wasn't how Beth wanted it to be. She was aware that she wasn't quite herself at the moment. She seemed to have little control over all the emotions swirling around her, coming as an annoying part of the package of pregnancy. But when Beth had daydreamed abut her future with Daryl, about them having a baby, she had never imagined they would be bickering and on edge about it like they were right now. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but something was wrong. This wasn't them.

This time Daryl turned back to face Beth's tearstained face, although he still had little idea what to say next, his blue eyes expressed deep emotion, almost as though he was debating something internally. He hated seeing her upset and being powerless to prevent it, even worse he hated seeing her upset knowing he was the primary cause.

"Damnit girl, what d'you want to go and cry for?" he said in a low voice watching her, his tone slightly softer.

Beth looked up to meet his gaze. "You know," she replied a tear sliding down her cheek.

"No, I don't," he responded, searching desperately for the right thing to say. "If it's about the party, then we can have the damn party," he said taking a step towards her.

"It's not about the party," Beth said the tears flowing more freely now. Daryl had seen her cry many times, but right now she felt a little silly crying in front of him, like she was acting weak and feeble. But there where things she needed to say.

"Then what, Beth?" He said, confused, his eyes full of concern.

"I miss you," Beth said dramatically.

"I'm right here," he replied, screwing his face up.

"No, you're not. You're different, it's like you're somewhere else a lot of the time. Since I started med school and now you've started your job with Rick, it feels like things have changed. And I can't do this on my own… _I need you_," Beth said her voice full of emotion.

He responded by stepping even closer towards her, instantly wrapping his strong arms around her slight frame, allowing her tears to seep in to his shirt.

"I aint going no-where," he said, putting his hand up to stroke the back of her soft blonde hair, calming her.

"You, me, the little un, that's it for me, always will be," he said, his gruff voice taking on a more soothing tone Beth rarely heard.

Beth smiled through her tears into his neck as he continued to hold her. She knew that was about as much as she was going to get from her quiet introverted husband. But she didn't care, because those few simple words from his lips had told her everything that she needed to know, everything she had always known.

She knew Daryl better than anyone. He was never going to be the kind of husband that loved having people round for parties, or celebrating birthdays and holidays. But she knew that his bark was far worse than his bite, that underneath his rough exterior, he had the kindest heart she had ever known. He might not always be able to express it in the best possible way, but he would do anything for her and now their unborn child too.

Slowly she broke away from him, wiping at her cheekbones with her fingertips, still smiling, she said, "I love you, Daryl Dixon."

Daryl broke in to a small amused smile back, his eyes twinkling, "Love you too, Greene."

Beth felt a rush of warmth spread across her at hearing his little nickname for her, she was Beth Dixon now, but to him she would always be Greene.

…...

Beth sat up in bed, hearing the front door closing and the sound of Daryl triple bolting it shut. His heavy footsteps climbing the stairs followed, before she heard him opening their bedroom door. He switched off the main light, leaving the room dimly lit by the soft glow from the bedside lamp. Before taking off his pants and shirt and pulling back the duvet to climb in to bed beside her. A waft of tobacco entering the bed with him.

Surprisingly to Beth, she hadn't had to nag him about not smoking in the house anymore now that she was pregnant. He had simply taken it upon himself not to light up a single cigarette around her since he had found out.

Beth lay down again, resting her head on his chest, listening to the comforting sound of his heartbeat in her ear, breathing in his strong masculine scent.

"You never told me what happened earlier," she said lazily.

"Mmm.." Daryl grunted, his arm around her, his fingers stroking the curve of her hip, from where she was lying contently beside him.

She lifted her head up to look him in the eye, the ends of her long hair tickling his bare skin. "Earlier, you were held up doing something, what was it?"

Daryl hesitated, moving his hand away from her to lightly rub the side of his face, unsure how much of the earlier incident with the walkers to share with her. Looking silently back in to her questioning eyes for a moment, he realised he had to be honest with her, she'd already seen the depths of hell, there was little point in trying to start sheltering her from it now.

"Some crazy guy, had an apartment on Harrison street, he'd been keeping _them _alive," he paused to allow her to take it in, noticing she looked confused, "Y'know _them_," he repeated.

Beth's round eyes widened with shock as it hit her, her hand flying up to her mouth. She'd heard a few stories like that. But she had just tried to block them out. Presuming that no-one that had survived the outbreak could still be that deluded to keep hold of the dead, not now they knew there was no way back.

"They escaped, but we dealt with it," he continued. "They had already killed the crazy fucker before we got there, and one tried to take a chunk out of me, but it's over," he stopped instantly regretting saying that last part about the attack on him when he saw the look of fear cross her face, "Weren't nothing I couldn't handle," he added arrogantly.

She shook her head.

"Probably one of the last times though," he added, aware as he was saying it that she wasn't that stupid. They both knew there would be more instances like this throughout the city. Hell wasn't quite over everywhere yet.

"So no-one else was hurt?" she asked.

He froze; he had been so caught up with everything else since he had arrived at the hospital earlier that he hadn't had a chance to think about the little girl he had saved. He had reluctantly handed her over to Carol to take care of, while they waited for the ambulance to arrive, before he had raced across town to be with Beth.

"What?" Beth questioned, her eyes narrowing, she knew there was something he wasn't telling her.

"There was a little girl there too," he said quietly.

"A child? How old?"

"Around five I guess, must have belonged to the dead guy in the apartment," he replied.

A look of surprise flashed across Beth's face. It was pretty rare to see children over the age of around two or three alive these days.

"Was she okay? Was she?..." She asked hesitantly, afraid of what he would say next.

He shook his head.

"Nah, she was pretty frightened, but she was alive, she was okay, tough kid from what I could gather…..must have been," he added thoughtfully, looking to his hands, remembering the scared look in the girls eyes as he had lifted her out of the closet in to his safe arms, the haunted look on her young face had struck his heart a little, he knew only too well what she must have been through.

"Was her mother alive?" Beth asked, not wanting to know the answer.

Again he shook his head.

"What's going to happen to her?" Beth asked with concern.

Daryl looked up from his hands to meet her bright questioning blue eyes with his own. "I dunno," he replied truthfully…

**A/N - Thanks for reading :) please leave any feedback/review if you have time.**


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